A-level Chemistry/OCR (Salters)/The Steel Story

thumb|right|350px|Transition metal salts usually form coloured solutions. From left to right, aqueous solutions of:* cobalt(II) nitrate, Co(NO3)2 (red)* potassium dichromate(VI), K2Cr2O7 (orange)* potassium chromate(VI), K2CrO4 (yellow)* nickel(II) chloride, NiCl2 (green)* copper(II) sulfate, CuSO4 (blue)* potassium manganate(VII), KMnO4 (purple). The Steel Story is the ninth unit in the Salters Advanced Chemistry course. Chemical Storylines sections SS1 What is steel? SS2 How is steel made? SS3 Rusting SS4 Recycling steel SS5 A closer look at the elements in steel SS6 Summary Chemical Ideas sections 2.4 Electronic structure: sub-shells and orbitals (revision) 6.1 Light and electrons (revision) 6.7 Where does colour come from? 9.1 Oxidation and reduction (revision) 9.2 Redox reactions and electrode potentials 9.3 Predicting the direction of redox reactions 11.5 The d block: characteristics of transition elements 10.5 How do catalysts work? (revision) 11.6 The d block: complex formation Activities SS1.1 How much manganese is there in a paper clip? SS1.2 A redox titration SS2.1 Why is blast furnace iron so impure? SS2.2 What changes occur during steelmaking? SS2.3 Getting the ‘heat balance’ right (Optional extension) SS2.4 How much aluminium do we need to add? (Optional extension) SS2.5 Which is the right steel for the job? (Optional extension) SS3.1 A simple redox reaction SS3.2 Simple electrochemical cells SS3.3 More electrochemical cells SS3.4 How does steel rust? SS3.5 Understanding redox reactions SS5.1 Investigating the oxidation states of vanadium SS5.2 How do transition metal ions act as catalysts? SS5.3 Looking at some transition metal complexes SS6 Check your notes on The Steel Story External links SS unit map SS Check Your Notes