Multiple Choice Questions : 1988

Metals and Alloys

6. Which of the following oxides dissolves in
both dilute sulphuric acid and sodium
1985 hydroxide solution?

A. CuO
1. Which of the following carbonates would give B. MgO
the metal when heated with carbon? C. Fe2O3
D. Al2O3
(1) MgCO3 (3) K2CO3
(2) PbCO3 (4) CuCO3
7. A metal X displaces copper from copper(II)
A. (2) only sulphate solution but does not displace zinc
B. (1) and (3) only sulphate solution. Which of the following
C. (2) and (4) only represents an increasing order for the reducing
D. (1), (2) and (4) only power of the three metals?

A. Cu < X< Zn
B. X < Cu< Zn
1986 C. Zn < X< Cu
D. Zn < Cu < X
2. Which of the following will occur when a
piece of magnesium ribbon is added to very
dilute nitric acid? 8. When a coin containing 92 % silver and 8 %
copper is warmed with excess concentrated
nitric acid it forms
A. H+(aq) + OH-(aq) → H2O()
B. 2H+(aq) + 2e- → H2(g) A. a colourless solution
C. NO3-(aq) + 4H+(aq) + 3e- → NO(g) + B. a pale blue solution
2H2O() C. a colourless solution with some
D. NO3-(aq) + 2H+(aq) + e- → NO2(g) + undissolved copper.
H2O() D. A pale blue solution with some
undissolved silver.

3. Which of the following metals will NOT 9. Which of the following metal oxides can be
displace copper ions from aqueous copper(II) reduced by carbon?
sulphate?
(l) magnesium oxide
A. silver (2) iron(III) oxide
B. iron (3) copper(lI) oxide
C. zinc
D. aluminium A. (1) and (2) only
B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only
4. Which of the following compounds does NOT D. (l), (2) and (3)
form a solid oxide when heated strongly?

A. copper(II) sulphate 10. When malachite [CuCO3.Cu(OH)2] is strongly

B. lead(II) carbonate heated in air, which of the following changes
C. potassium nitrate would occur?
D. calcium hydroxide
(1) Carbon dioxide is evolved.
(2) Steam is evolved.
5. Dipping aluminium foil into nitric acid for a (3) Metallic copper is produced.
brief period can protect the metal from
corrosion. A. (1) only
B. (1) and (2) only
An oxide layer is formed on the surface of the C. (2) and (3) only
aluminium foil when it is dipped into nitric D. (1), (2) and (3)
acid
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1989
(1) NaNO3
(2) AgNO3
11. Which of the following metals can obtain
(3) Pb(NO3)2
hydrogen from both dilute hydrochloric acid
and dilute sodium hydroxide solution?
A. (1) and (3) only
B. (2) and (3) only
A. aluminium
C. (1) and (2) only
B. iron
D. (1), (2) and (3)
C. lead
D. magnesium

12. When zinc reacts with 1 M nitric acid,

hydrogen is not evolved. This is because 1990
A. zinc reduces the nitric acid to nitrogen.
B. the concentration of hydrogen ions in 17. Which of the following pairs of substances
dilute nitric acid is very low. would react to produce hydrogen?
C. nitric acid is an oxidizing agent.
D. zinc forms a protective oxide layer. (1) iron and steam
(2) sodium and ethanol
13. When a colourless solution X is added to (3) magnesium and concentrated sulphuric
sodium chloride solution, a white precipitate is acid
produced which dissolves in aqueous
ammonia. A. (1) and (2) only
When excess dilute nitric acid is added to the B. (1) and (3) only
resulting solution, the white precipitate C. (2) and (3) only
appears again. Which of the following ions D. (1), (2) and (3)
would probably be present in solution X?

A. Ag+(aq) 18. Magnesium chloride solution gives a white

B. Pb2+(aq) precipitate with lead(II) nitrate solution.
C. Zn2+(aq)
D. Al3+(aq) Magnesium is higher than lead in the metal
activity series.

14. Which of the following metal oxides, when 19. Sea water can corrode ships more quickly than
heated on a charcoal block, can be reduced to fresh water.
the corresponding metals?
Sodium chloride in sea water speeds up the
(1) CuO corrosion of iron.
(2) PbO
(3) ZnO

A. (1) and (2) only 1991

B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)
20. X, Y and Z are metals. Y can displace X from
a solution of the nitrate X. Oxides of X and Y
can be reduced by hydrogen but not the oxide
15. Which of the following processes could be
of Z. Which of the following arrangements
used to slow down corrosion of an iron nail?
represents the correct descending order of
reactivity of the metals?
(1) painting the nail
(2) coating a layer of zinc on the nail
A. Z>Y>X
(3) wrapping a strip of copper around the nail
B. X>Y>Z
(4) putting the nail under distilled water
C. Z>X>Y
D. X>Z>Y
A. (1) and (2) only
B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (4) only
D. (1), (3) and (4) only
16. Which of the following nitrates would give off
brown fumes when heated? 1992
MC : Metals and Alloys Page 3

Directions: The two questions below refer to the Directions: The two questions below refer to the
following diagrams: following experiment:

Three different pairs of metal wires are placed

separately in petri dishes (as shown in the diagram
above) containing a mixture of gelatin, potassium
21. Which of the following represents the correct hexacyanoferrate(III) solution and phenolphthalein
order of activity of the metals P, Q, R and S? solution.

A. R, P, Q, S 25. Which of the following statements are correct?

B. Q, P, R, S
C. P, Q, S, R (1) The iron wire in Dish I does not corrode
D. P, R, S, Q readily.
(2) The iron wire in Dish II corrodes readily.
(3) The iron wires in Dish III do not corrode.
22. Which of the two metals used as electrodes
would give the largest cell voltage? A. (1) and (2) only
B. (1) and (3) only
A. Q and R C. (2) and (3) only
B. Q and S D. (1), (2) and (3)
C. S and R
D. S and P
26. In Dish II, which of the following colours will
develop around the iron wire and the copper
23. wire?

iron wire copper wire

A. pink blue
B. blue pink
C. pink no colour
In the above experiment, a gas is evolved and D. blue no colour
burns at the jet. Metal X is probably

A. zinc.
B. aluminium. 1994
C. magnesium.
D. copper *27. Which of the following methods can be used
to distinguish between solid sodium carbonate
and solid calcium carbonate?
24. Which of the following metals can be obtained
by reducing their oxides with carbon? (1) heating the solid and testing the gaseous
product with lime water
(1) iron (2) testing the solubility of the solid in water
(2) calcium (3) conducting a flame test on the solid
(3) lead
A. (1) and (2) only
A. (1) and (2) only B. (1) and (3) only
B. (1) and (3) orily C. (2) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only D. (1), (2) and (3)
D. (1), (2) and (3)

1993 1995
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31. Metal X reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid to

28. Which of the following methods can be used liberate hydrogen, but metal Y and Z have no
to extract lead from lead(II) oxide? reaction with the dilute acid. The oxide of
metal Y decomposes on heating but the oxide
A. heating lead(II) oxide in the absence of air of metal Z does not.
B. heating lead(II) oxide in the presence of Which of the following arrangements
air represents the order of increasing reactivity of
C. heating lead(II) oxide with copper at high the three metals?
temperature
D. heating lead(II) oxide with carbon at high A. X<Y<Z
temperature B. Y<Z<X
C. X<Z<Y
D. Z<Y<X

29. A certain amount of silver oxide is heated in a

test tube. Which of the following graphs 1996
represents the correct plot of the mass of the
contents of the test tube against time?
32. Zinc blocks are often attached to the steel legs
A.
of off-shore oil platforms because

A. zinc can protect steel from corrosion.

B. zinc is more resistant to corrosion than
steel.
C. zinc is harder than steel.
D. zinc does not react with crude oil.

B.
33. Which of the following metals is/are present
in solder?

(1) copper
(2) lead
(3) iron

A. (1) only
C.
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only

34. The resistance of aluminium to corrosion can

be enhanced by anodisation.

During anodisation, aluminium oxide on the

D.
metal surface is reduced to aluminium.

1997

35. Which of the following metal oxides can be

reduced to the metal when heated with
carbon?
30. When a piece of iron wire coupled with a
piece of tin wire is left in the air for a long (1) aluminium oxide
period of time, the iron wire does not corrode. (2) lead(II) oxide
(3) iron(III) oxide
Tin prevents iron from corrosion by sacrificial
protection. A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
MC : Metals and Alloys Page 5

D. (2) and (3) only D. zinc nitrate

36. Aluminium is used to make window frames 41. In each of the four solutions shown below, a
because strip of zinc is added.

(1) it is strong.
(2) it can resist corrosion.
(3) it is the most abundant metallic element in s ilv e r n itra te le a d ( I I ) n itra te
s o lu tio n s o lu tio n
the earth crust.

Which of the above statements are correct? z in c z in c

A. (1) and (2) only Tube I T u b e II

B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3)
m a g n e s iu m c o p p e r(II)
s u lp h a te s u lp h a te
37. The reaction of sodium with water produces s o lu tio n s o lu tio n
hydrogen. z in c z in c

The reaction of sodium with water is T u b e III T u b e IV

exothermic.
Which of the following combinations is
correct?
38. The body of a motor car will corrode faster if
common salt is sprinkled on roads after a Tube Observation
heavy snow. A. I no change
B. II brown coating on zinc
Common salt and water form a conducting C. III no change
solution. D. IV grey coating on zinc

1998 42. Brass is commonly used for making

ornaments because

(1) it has an attractive appearance.

39. Consider the following experiment.
(2) it can resist corrosion.
m e ta l X (3) it is softer than copper.

s te a m Which of the following combinations is

correct?
d e liv e ry
tu b e A. (1) and (2) only
H EAT B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only
During the experiment, a gas is liberated. The D. (1), (2) and (3)
gas can burn at the end of the delivery tube. X
is probably

A. copper
B. lead
1999
C. silver
D. zinc
43. In which of the following situation is iron
prevented from rusting by sacrificial
40. Which of the following is NOT the protection?
appropriate substance for preparing zinc
sulphate by directly mixing with dilute A. Iron plates are joined together with copper
sulphuric acid? rivets.
B. Iron pipes are connected to lead blocks.
A. zinc C. Iron sheets are plated with zinc.
B. zinc carbonate D. Iron cans are coated with tin.
C. zinc hydroxide
MC : Metals and Alloys Page 6

44. Which of the following metal oxides 49. Gold ornaments are usually made from an
CANNOT be reduced by heating with carbon? alloy of gold and copper instead of pure gold.
This is because the alloy
(1) magnesium oxide
(2) lead(II) oxide A. can be found free in nature.
(3) iron(III) oxide B. is more corrosion resistant than pure gold.
C. is denser than pure gold.
A. (1) only D. is stronger than pure gold.
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only 50. In an experiment, a piece of calcium metal
was added to a beaker of water. Which of the
following of the statements concerning the
45. Which of the following reactions will occur experiment is/are correct?
when aluminium powder is added to silver
nitrate solution? (1) The calcium metal sank to the bottom of
the beaker.
(1) displacement (2) The calcium metal burnt with a brick red
(2) anodization flame.
(3) redox (3) At the end of the experiment, an alkaline
solution was formed in the beaker.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only A. (1) only
C. (1) and (3) only B. (2) only
D. (2) and (3) only C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only

46. Metals have good thermal conductivity.

51. Aluminium was used earlier than iron in the
Metals are composed of giant lattices of history of mankind.
positive ions surrounded by valence electrons
which are free to move throughout the lattices. Aluminium is more abundant than iron in the
earth crust.

2000

47. Caesium (Cs) is a Group I element in the

Periodic Table and its relative atomic mass is
greater than that of potassium. Which of the
following statements concerning caesium is
INCORRECT?

A. Caesium is a weaker reducing agent than

potassium.
B. Caesium reacts violently with water.
C. Caesium is a soft metal.
D. Caesium reacts with oxygen to form an
oxide with formula Cs2O.

48. Iron cans used for canning food are usually

coated with tin instead of zinc. This is because

A. tin is more reactive than zinc.

B. tin ions are non-toxic but zinc ions are
toxic.
C. tin forms an alloy with iron and this alloy
is corrosion resistant.
D. tin prevents iron cans from rusting by
sacrificial protection.