Question

24-carat gold is alloyed with either _______ or copper to make it hard which can be used to make ornaments.
1. Zinc
2. Lead
3. Silver
4. Tin

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : Silver

The correct answer is Silver.

• Gold
  • It is one of the softest metals, and this quality makes it easier to design it in various jewelry designs.
  • It is tough making 24 karat gold jewelry. Other metals have to be added to it to increase its durability and strength.
  • If you wish to know what is 24 karat gold, you must understand that 24 karat gold is the purest form of this yellow metal.
  • Although 24 karat is pure gold, a jewelry piece made up of this purity is not solid and flexible enough.
  • When creating and crafting beautiful, intricately designed, and patterned gold jewelry, the metal needs to be added with other alloys to lend it the necessary strength.
  • The metals usually added to gold metal are zinc, nickel, silver, copper, etc. Hence, Option 3 is correct.
  • This is because when gold melts its state will change into a liquid.
  • Gold will like water so it flows and it will become difficult to mold.
  • So copper is added to gold which is there in the liquid state, so it will harden gold a little bit to prevent it from flowing which will be easy to mold gold to make ornaments.

• Silver
  • It is a chemical element with the symbol Ag and atomic number 47.
  • A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal.

• Zinc
  • It is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30.
  • Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a silvery-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed.
  • It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table.
• Lead
  • It is a chemical element with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82.
  • It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials.
  • Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point.
  • When freshly cut, lead is silvery with a hint of blue; it tarnishes to a dull gray color when exposed to air.
• Tin
  • It is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and the atomic number 50.
  • Tin is a silvery metal that characteristically has a faint yellow hue.
  • Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force.