Alloys: mixing metals
Steel, brass and bronze are mixtures.
A golden handle
Door handles, ship parts, medals, tools and utensils are often made not from one pure metal but from a mixture.
Brass is made by melting copper and zinc together. Is brass one pure metal, or a mixture?
What this lesson covers
The idea
An alloy is a mixture of two or more metals, or of a metal and a non-metal.
A golden handle
Door handles, ship parts, medals, tools and utensils are often made not from one pure metal but from a mixture.
Brass is made by melting copper and zinc together. Is brass one pure metal, or a mixture?
- A pure metal
- A mixture
The alloy maker
Pick two ingredients, then press Melt and mix. Can you make steel, brass and bronze?
Alloys
An alloy is a mixture of two or more metals, or of a metal and a non-metal.
Many metals and their alloys are important for daily use as utensils and tools, and for almost every industry.
- Alloy | Made from | What kind of mixture
- Steel | iron + carbon | metal + non-metal
- Brass | copper + zinc | metal + metal
- Bronze | copper + tin | metal + metal
Notes
An alloy is a mixture of two or more metals, or of a metal and a non-metal: steel (iron + carbon), brass (copper + zinc), bronze (copper + tin).
Check yourself
An alloy is...
Brass is a mixture of...
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. What kind of mixture is it?
Which of these is an alloy?
- a mixture of two or more metals, or of a metal and a non-metal — correct. Yes!
- a single pure element. That is an element, not an alloy.
- a rusty metal. Rust is something else: it forms on iron in moist air.
- copper and zinc — correct. Yes!
- iron and carbon. That is steel.
- copper and tin. That is bronze.
- Two metals. Carbon is not a metal.
- A metal and a non-metal — correct. Yes! Iron is a metal and carbon is a non-metal.
- Two non-metals. Iron is a metal.
- Bronze — correct. Yes! It is copper mixed with tin.
- Copper. Copper alone is an element.
- Oxygen. Oxygen is an element.