summer-2019-question2

Sep 5, 2026

Aluminium extraction and recycling exam questions covering an electrolysis cell diagram and the extraction of aluminium from alumina. Tasks include completing sentence blanks about electrolyte composition, electrode roles, product formation, and ore source, balancing an overall reaction equation, calculating the percentage of alumina in an aluminium ore sample, and interpreting an energy comparison chart to identify the reason recycling aluminium is more cost effective than recycling steel and copper.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Aluminium extraction questions

Electrolysis diagram completion

Balance the overall reaction equation

Calculate percentage of alumina in ore

Interpret energy chart for recycling

6 2. The diagram shows an electrolysis cell used in the extraction of aluminium from alumina. anode cathode molten electrolyte bauxite electrical molten alumina positive negative cryolite molten aluminium oxygen light (a) Choose words from the box to complete the following sentences. [5] The molten electrolyte is a mixture of alumina and ................................................................................ Product A is ................................................................................ Oxygen is formed at the anode which is the ............................................................................... electrode. Alumina is obtained from an ore called ................................................................................ The process of extracting aluminium is expensive because it uses a lot of ............................................................................... energy. (b) Balance the symbol equation that shows the overall reaction. [1] 2Al2O3 Al + 3O2 Examiner only © WJEC CBAC Ltd. (3410U20-1) 7 | (c) 250 tonnes of an aluminium ore can produce 195 tonnes of alumina. Calculate the percentage of alumina in the ore. [2]
Percentage = . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . %
(d) The chart compares the amount of energy used to extract and to recycle three metals. | | | | --- | --- | --- | | Energy (kWh) | 70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
~~ ~~ energy used to extract metal ore energy used to

from its
recycle metal
steel aluminium copper | | | Use the information in the chart to answer the following question.
Put a tick (√) in the box next to the statement that describes why it is more cost effective
to recycle aluminium than steel and copper. [1] | | | | The energy used to extract metals is greater than that used in recycling them
The difference between the energy used to extract and the energy used torecycle is the greatest
The energy used in recycling is less than for copper but greater than for steel | | | © WJEC CBAC Ltd. (3410U20-1) Turn over. Examiner only 3 41 0 U 2 0 1 07 | | | --- | | 9 |

FAQs

How do you decide why recycling aluminium is more cost effective than recycling steel and copper?

Use the energy comparison chart and tick the statement that correctly explains the relative energy used for extraction versus recycling for the three metals.

Sep 5, 2026

Upload by Maya Linwood