Question

Why is gold found in a free state?

Answer 1

Hint: Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and the atomic number 79, making it one of the elements with a higher atomic number that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly reddish yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal in its pure form.

Complete answer:
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and the atomic number 79, making it one of the elements with a higher atomic number that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly reddish yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal in its pure form.
Gold is a transition metal and a group 11 element in chemistry. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements and, under normal conditions, is solid. Gold is frequently found in its free elemental (native) form, as nuggets or grains, in rocks, veins, and alluvial deposits.
It can be found in a solid solution series with the native element silver (as electrum), naturally alloyed with other metals such as copper and palladium, and as mineral inclusions such as pyrite. Less commonly, it can be found in minerals as gold compounds, frequently with tellurium (gold tellurides).
Most acids do not dissolve gold, but it does dissolve in aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid), which forms a soluble tetrachloroaurate anion. The fact that gold is insoluble in nitric acid, which dissolves silver and base metals, has long been used to refine gold and confirm the presence of gold in metallic substances, giving rise to the term acid test.
Thus, gold is a noble metal, Gold has the lowest reactivity of any metal because it does not react with oxygen, carbon , carbonates and other elements to form compounds, it is always found in its free state.

Note:
Gold is a precious metal that has been used for coinage, jewelry, and other arts throughout recorded history. It is a relatively rare element. A gold standard was frequently used as a monetary policy in the past, but gold coins ceased to be minted as circulating currency in the 1930s, and the world gold standard was abandoned in favor of a fiat currency system after 1971.