Question

How do alloys brass and bronze differ in composition?

Answer 1

Hint: Brass is commonly used for decorative purposes primarily because of its resemblance to gold. It is also commonly used to make musical instruments due to its high workability and durability. Whereas Bronze is used in the construction of sculptures, musical instruments and medals, and in industrial applications such as bushings and bearings, where its low metal on metal friction is an advantage.

Complete answer:

Both brass and bronze are mostly copper, with small amounts of other elements added.
In the case of brass, the alloying element is zinc. There may be other elements, but the zinc is the main constituent behind the copper itself.
In the case of bronze, the alloying element is often tin, but there are lots of other alloying elements that also lead to the alloy being called bronze, like phosphorus, silicon, and aluminium.
So, brass is copper and zinc. Bronze is copper and things that aren’t zinc. There are a few other complications: some alloys have their own names. For example, you don’t call an alloy of copper with five percent nickel ‘nickel bronze’, because it’s already called ‘nickel silver’. A bronze made with copper and beryllium is called ‘beryllium copper’ rather than beryllium bronze, for some reason.

Note: Brass is mainly an alloy that consists of copper with zinc added. Brasses can have varying amounts of zinc or other elements added. These varying mixtures produce a wide range of properties and variation in colour. Increased amounts of zinc provide the material with improved strength and ductility. Brass can range in colour from red to yellow depending on the amount of zinc added to the alloy.
Bronze is an alloy that consists primarily of copper with the addition of other ingredients. In most cases the ingredient added is typically tin, but arsenic, phosphorus, aluminium, manganese, and silicon can also be used to produce different properties in the material. All of these ingredients produce an alloy much harder than copper alone.