metals and me section 1

7/29/2019 Metals and Me Section 1

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Metals are used in so many different parts of our

world that we often forget about the role they play.

If you are reading this in a classroom you may want

to think about how you came to be sitting here:

The flat or house you woke up in has a large amount of metal

hidden in its construction. From nails and screws, to girders

holding up the roof and walls, large amounts of steel, iron,

aluminium and copper have been used. We wont even begin

to think about the metal-based tools used by the builders...

Your homes are connected with pipes and conduits carryingwater, gas and cables for power, communications and utility

services. Many of these pipes and cables contain metals such

as copper and iron.

If you travelled to school by bicycle, bus, car or train these will

have been made mainly from metals like aluminium and steel.

Even those of you who walked will have passed signs, gates

and fences made in part or entirely from metals.

School buildings have huge amounts of metal in their construction,

depending on their age and design. From structural support towindow frames, there is an abundant use of metal: steel girders,

iron pipes (in older schools) and miles of copper cabling. Heating

systems are made from metals, and kitchens and offices have

metals in their construction, or have machines and storage

facilities within them that use metals.

What have metals got to do with me?

And what about you? Do you have a mobile phone with rare

metals (including gold!) within it? Or a laptop with aluminiumcasing and soldering? Perhaps you listen to an mp3 player or have

a games console. From the tip of your biro to the TV, computer

or music system you use, its all dependent on metal. Even the

clothes you stand up in are fit to wear because of washers, dryers

and irons. These are just a few of the domestic appliances that

are made with a range of metals that help you get ready for the

day ahead.

Understanding how much metals are used within our world is only

the start. The reality is that many of the products we rely on have

a limited lifespan. Your TV at home could last for 20 years, but it is

much more likely that it will only be in your front room for five years

or less. Newer models will appear that offer a higher specification,

and advertising will ensure that many will want the new version

whether the old one works or not. With time washing machine

designs become more efficient, dryers consume less electricity and

computers offer more speed and better connectivity. At some stage

we make the decision to change product, and this often means

disposing of the old model. Relatively lower cost items may be

redistributed among family and friends, but higher value or larger

sized items may need to be sold or removed to accommodate the

new purchase in financial or spatial terms.

Gold has been a

valuable and highly

sought-after precious

metal for coinage,

jewellery, and other

arts since long

before the beginning

of recorded history.

SECTION 1 Information sheet


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What happens to the old stuff?

Manufacturers refer to the term built-in obsolescence. This means

the customer is expected to need to replace the item in a few years

when it appears to be obsolete (of no more use). If the manufacturer

sold an item that would never need replacing then how would they

sell the next generation of products? We need to get rid of older

products when the new ones arrive, and while we can find someone

to take our 2-year-old mobile phone, we may find it harder to get

someone to deal with our bulky 20-year-old freezer.

When we buy new products, we are consuming ever more metals.

The supply of these metals is increasingly being outstripped bydemand. This is no longer just to fulfil the needs of the UK, Europe

and the USA, but many emerging economies. The massive increase

in demand across the world has not been matched by a sudden

increase in supply. When demand is greater than supply, prices rise.

If the prices of metals rise then the prices of the goods in our shops

rise and we must pay more when we buy the new product. A further

worry is that many of these essential metals are not easily found in

the UK. They are often imported from abroad, from countries that

used to sell raw materials but that will increasingly need them for

their own manufacturing and consumption.

We need to think more deeply about:

how we consume metals

what we do with the metals in discarded products.

In short, the more we can recycle existing metal products, the less

we will need to extract, refine and create new metal components.

We would also need to import less, and not only would we reduce

costs to the consumer, we would limit the damage to the environment

that processing metal ores and producing new metals entails.

Metal ores are

extracted through

mining; these

are then refined

to extract the

valuable element(s).

Information sheet


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House hunt

Cooker

Washing machine

Tumble drier

Fridge/freezer

Microwave oven

Television

Window frame

TOTAL

Using the tally sheet identifyat least 10 items in your houseor school that contain metal.Put ticks in the relevant columnsto create a tally of the kind ofmetals you think they contain.

Now use the information sheetto identify any other metalsfound in the items in your list.

Add up the columns to find thetotals for each metal present.

a. Which are the most common?

b. Why do you think that is?

c. Is the metal there forstrength, safety, efficiencyor style reasons?

Ask your parents/carers:

a. the approximate age of

the item

b. if it is likely to be replacedin the near future

c. what will happen to theold appliance once the newone arrives.

Steel Iron Aluminium Copper Tin Nickel Gold Silver

OVERVIEW

Your home is full of

metals. Some items

are obviously made

of metal, like your

cooker, but others,

like TVs, contain

a surprising range

of metals hidden

inside, even though

they look like they

are made of plastic.

Activity sheet 1

Items/Metals


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Bed

Bicycle

Cable

Car

Desktop computer

Dishwasher

Doorknob

Electric iron

Electric kettle

Fridge

Games console

Ironing board

Jewellery

Laptop

Light fitting

Lighting Mercury fluorescent tube

Tungsten incandescent bulbs

Sodium street lights

Lock

Mobile phone

Aluminium Copper Iron Lead Zinc Precious metals Other metals Steel Stainless steel Brass(Gold silver platinum (Iron & (Copper

Al Cu Fe Pb Znpalladium)

(Cadmium nickel lithium mercury)carbon)

(Steel & chromium)& zinc)

METALS ALLOYS

25

Table of metals and example uses

Activity sheet 1 Information sheet


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Plumbing

Pots and pans

TV & computer monitor

(flat-screen display)

TV and computer monitor

(old-style CRT)

Washing machine Window frame

Activity sheet 1 Information sheet

Metal Characteristics and uses

Aluminium Light weight, corrosion resistant, used for bicycle frames, windows, aeroplanes and cars.

Copper Good conductor of electricity and heat, used for wiring and plumbing.

Iron Main component of steel, widely used in construction and heavy industry.

Lead Heavy, soft metal, poisonous to plants and animals, used in roofing, cables, car batteries and old-fashioned plumbing.

Zinc Hard, brittle metal, combines with copper to make brass; used in batteries and as a corrosion-resistant coating for steel parts.

Precious metals Found in batteries and used in circuit boards as solder and to create connections. Widely used in jewellery.(Gold silver platinum palladium)

Other metalsAlso used in batteries and circuit boards.

(Cadmium nickel lithium mercury)

Steel (Iron & carbon) An alloy of iron and carbon (or other mineral) widely used in buildings, tools, ships, cars, machines and appliances.

Stainless steel Corrosion-resistant alloy which doesnt easily rust in water, used for storage and transporting corrosive liquids and for(Steel & chromium) medical or kitchen equipment.

Brass (Copper & zinc) A soft alloy which produces very little friction, used in locks, gears switches, screws and bearings, for fittings used

with explosive gases (no sparks) and for musical instruments.

Aluminium Copper Iron Lead Zinc Precious metals Other metals Steel Stainless steel Brass(Gold silver platinum (Iron & (Copper

Al Cu Fe Pb Znpalladium)

(Cadmium nickel lithium mercury)carbon)

(Steel & chromium)& zinc)

METALS ALLOYS


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Robs story

What a week! We had just been told we were about to go on short

time so that was two days pay about to go missing when I needed

to find more money to cover my student loan repayments. Then my

landlady Mrs Malaprop called, just to do a quick health and safety

check. She agreed it was unscheduled, but I said OK, and to be

honest she has been quite helpful in the past. It was all going well

when she wandered into the back yard. Id totally forgotten about the

stuff I had stashed out there while I thought about what to do with it.

Of course Mrs M saw it and was not amused.

To cut a long story short, I had got a new flat-screen TV from somebloke off eBay and it was miles better than the one I had, so I lobbed

the old one out the back door. Then the gas board check had

condemned the old cooker, which was fair enough because it had

been faulty, but of course its not their job to take it away, is it? So I

added that to the pile. My old flatmate had dumped a shed load of

stuff when he left, but most of it was pots and pans. Oh, and three

dud car batteries that had been sitting around for at least 18 months.

None of it was any good to me, so there it all stayed. To be honest

it did look a mess, but nobody ever comes into my back yard, not

even the lads who had thrown a bust-up old pram over the wall.

I was making that point to Mrs M when she pointed out that it actually

wasnt my back yard at all it was hers. And I was now in breach of

the tenancy agreement, etc etc. She says I need to get it shifted by

the end of this week. At the latest no debate.

Moral dilemma part 1

I did try pointing out that I had notified the council, but they said it

was my job to take it to the recycling plant. I mentioned my lack oftransport and they politely reminded me that it wasnt really their

problem. The only other option was a special collection but they

would have to charge for large items. Another thing was that a

collection could take a fortnight. Besides, spare cash is one thing

I dont have much of at the moment.

My mate Steve says charities wont accept anything electrical or

gas powered unless it has been passed safe. Well theres not much

chance of that. He says we should wheel it off at night in the pram

and just dump it in the old canal basin. Great, I can just see me

getting found out and done for fly tipping. Steve says the days of theold rag and bone man are long gone, and anyway, what would I do

with the inevitable balloon Id get in exchange? Funny man! I gave

him a mouthful and he sloped off saying I could cart it all myself.

So this is the situation. I either spend my remaining money on a hire

van to drive it all to the tip, risk a fight with an angry Mrs M and try

and get a weeks delay (and still pay), or try and dump it at night.

I know fly tipping is risky and not exactly legal, but Im wondering

if I have any choice.

Because ofnickels

slow rate of oxidation

at room temperature,

it is considered

corrosion-resistant.

Information sheetActivity sheet 2


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Moral dilemma part 1 continued


Read Robs story and

answer the question

on the next page.


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Knowing what you know, what would you advise Rob to do?

Activity sheet 2

Recycling one

aluminium can saves

enough energy to

power a 100-watt

bulb for almost

four hours.

Information sheet


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Steves story

Rob is a mate but he cannot take a joke! He always looks on the

dark side given half a chance. Everything is a crisis, if you know what

I mean, when actually there are lots of possibilities. Take Mrs M for

instance if it were me Id go on my hands and knees and tell her

I needed more time, and pay the money to the council rather than

just whinge on about it. And take the rag and bone man joke I only

mentioned that because hes a bit stuck up is Rob. In fact, if hed

have asked properly I could have told him that they may not be

around any more, but there are metal recycling plants about. In fact

there is one only three miles away at Dobinson Brothers Ltd. They

would almost certainly collect the stuff or tell him who could shift it

for free. Actually they give you cash in hand for many items.

We had someone from Dobinsons round our way and he was telling

me a bit about which metals were in demand. He could have been

winding me up, but he named a few items I might be getting shot

of soon and how much the metals might fetch. He reckons theres

money to be made from most parts of a cooker, and things like

batteries might be a bit dodgy for someone like me, but they can

Moral dilemma part 2

dispose of them and recycle by-products like lead and nickel. I bet

Robs telly has some solder or gold-plated contacts inside. Even thealuminium pots and pans he was sneering at could be melted down

by someone with the right equipment. It seems the council doesnt

recycle some of the stuff that Dobinsons does, according to this

bloke. He reckons the council site operates on a small scale and only

deals with certain metals, so other materials end up going to landfill.

Anyway, I texted Rob to mention Dobinsons but he says hell make

up his own mind.

Charming!

Metals are usually

malleable and shiny,

that is they reflect

most incident light.



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Activity sheet 2

Now read Steves

story and answer

the questions on

the following page.

Information sheet


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Knowing what you know now, what would you advise Rob to do?

Did your opinion change?

If it didnt change, what was the point that made you stick with your original conclusion?

If your answer did change, what was the new information that made you alter your opinion?

Activity sheet 2

Metallic elements

and alloys are usually

good conductors of

heat and electricity.

Information sheet


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What if metals became very difficult to obtain or were

so expensive that products made out of new metals

were simply beyond the reach of most people?

Could we just do without metal and use something

else instead? There certainly were occasions in the

past where metal was used because it was the only

option, but increasingly there are alternatives.

Sometimes metals are used for visual effect alone they just look

right. From picture frames to jewellery and ornaments, we can all

think of non-essential uses of metals. We have all eaten with plasticknives and forks at a picnic or party, but our household cutlery tends

to be stainless steel because it is durable, functional and aesthetically

pleasing. There is a choice to be made. However, the unique

properties of some metals means they are effectively irreplaceable.

Car engines are made from aluminium and other metals, especially

steel, because of their high heat tolerances and relatively low weight

characteristics. Gas cooker hobs tend to be made from iron, steel

and aluminium because properties such as strength and heat

resistance are required. It is hard to imagine which other materials

could do those jobs without involving huge costs, or without using

technologies that are as yet unavailable.

No more metal?

Think about the metals used in your home. How many are absolutely

essential, and what would happen if they were suddenly unavailable?

What if ...

there was no copper available for electrical cables?

the solder and gold-plated electrical contacts were removed

from TVs?

nickel, cadmium, lithium and lead were no longer available

for batteries?

aluminium could not be used for car engines

there was no tinned steel for the cans in your cupboard?

It's not an easy concept to grasp as we are used to presuming these

metals will always exist. We don't really think about how they are

obtained, manufactured and transported to our homes. Perhaps we

should consider a life without them to fully comprehend what our

waste of such metals might mean in the future.

The term ferrous

is derived from the

Latin word meaning

containing iron.



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Using the list of items you identifiedin activity 1, in the table on the rightsummarise the main metals youbelieve to be used in each item.

Consider which components mightbe replaced by other materials.

If you think some metals are essential(e.g. aluminium in car engines),then record a high score (out ofa maximum 10) in the metals

dependent column. If you thinksome metals could be replaced quiteeasily (e.g. carbon fibre for steelbicycle frames) record a lower value.

In your opinion, which three itemsare most dependent on metals(highest scores out of 10)? Why?

Which three are least dependent(lowest scores out of 10)? Why?

What would happen if any one ofthe metals listed for your productswas completely unavailable? Whatif they were all unavailable?

On a scale of 110, how metalsdependent do you think yourhome is?

No more metal?

Aluminium is the

third most abundant

element (after oxygen

and silicon), and the

most abundant metal,

in the Earths crust.

Activity sheet 3

Cooker Iron, steel, Not for heat-creat ing or heat-bearing 8/10copper wire, components. Thin steel for some

aluminium external panels might be replaced

with heat-resistant glass?

Washing Steel, copper Rotating drum and external panels 6/10

machine wire, aluminium could be plastic

Metals used Alternatives? Metal dependentItems/Metals

metals and me section 1

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