Introduction

Ever since humans have made metal tools, we have been extracting useful materials from not-so-useful ores.  Below is a reenactment of the first copper smiths.

Different time periods throughout history have been defined based on the metal most commonly used.  Here is a timeline of the difference ages, starting with the copper age.  In the middle ages, scientists found that the metal was lighter than the ore it came from and thus the process was called a reduction of the ore into a metal.

Fast forward to today, humans have taken the basics of the ancient smelting and have improved upon the process (i.e. to further minimize impurities) and scaled up so that a super forge can process over a million metric tons of ore continuously in a year.

Throughout this unit, we are going to build on what you have learned so far in chemistry and take a closer look at what is going on during the reaction.

Consider the following questions as you complete this lesson:

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