AQA GCSE Chemistry (8462), Higher tier · Using resources › Using materials
Practise Alloys as useful materials. 12 exam-style questions plus unlimited generated ones on this subtopic, at up to four difficulty levels, with full mark schemes and a progress tracker. Free, no account needed.
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Bronze is an alloy of copper and one other metal. Name the other metal.
tin
Sample questions
Written for this site in the style of AQA exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.
Question 1Easy4 marks
Most metals in everyday use are alloys.
(a) Bronze is an alloy of copper and one other metal. Name the other metal.[1]
(b) Brass is an alloy of copper and one other metal. Name the other metal.[1]
(c) Give one use of brass.[1]
(d) Give the property of aluminium alloys that makes them useful for aircraft.[1]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: tin
tin
(b)Answer: zinc
zinc
(c)
musical instruments / door handles / taps / electrical plugs and fittings / ornaments
(d)
low density
Question 2Medium5 marks
Gold used as jewellery is usually an alloy with silver, copper and zinc. The proportion of gold is measured in carats. 24 carat gold is 100% gold.
(a) What is the percentage of gold in 18 carat gold?[1]
(b) A ring is made of 14 carat gold. The mass of the ring is 6.0 g. Calculate the mass of gold in the ring.[2]
(c) Explain why gold used for jewellery is usually an alloy rather than pure gold.[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: 75%
75 (%)
(b)Answer: 3.5 g
14 ÷ 24 × 6.0
3.5 (g)
(c)
pure gold is (too) soft
the other atoms are a different size, which distorts the layers so they cannot slide easily, making the alloy harder
Question 3Hard6 marks
A company makes frames for racing bicycles. {table} gives information about four alloys it could use.
[object Object]
(a) The strength-to-density ratio is strength ÷ density. Calculate the strength-to-density ratio for the titanium alloy and for the steel alloy.[2]
(b) Evaluate which alloy the company should use for the frames of racing bicycles.[4]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: titanium 216; steel 86
titanium: 950 ÷ 4.4 = 216
steel: 670 ÷ 7.8 = 86
(b)
titanium alloy has the highest strength-to-density ratio, so frames can be strong and light
titanium alloy has excellent resistance to corrosion
but titanium alloy is by far the most expensive (£30 per kg)
aluminium alloy has a high strength-to-density ratio (115) and good corrosion resistance and is cheap
steel is strong and cheap but dense and corrodes; magnesium alloy is the least dense and has a high strength-to-density ratio (144) but is the weakest and corrodes easily
justified conclusion (e.g. aluminium alloy for most frames, titanium for the most expensive bikes)