Question

The metal that is present in brass, bronze and German silver is:
(A) Mg
(B) Zn
(C) Cu
(D) Al

Answer 1

Hint: The substances having a combination of two or more elements, commonly metal as the base along with the addition of other elements such as nonmetals or metalloids. They have improved properties than the constituent elements.

Complete step by step solution:
Firstly, Brass, Bronze and German silver are alloys. That is, they have a mixture of elements in which at least one of them is metal. They are quite useful as the properties of the parent metal are enhanced on mixing.
As they are taken in varied proportions, the physical properties like its strength, conductivity, corrosion resistivity, wear-resistance, ability to withstand heat and various other properties are often enhanced than the constituent elements found separately. Thus, requiring less maintenance with increased durability.
Then, Brass is an alloy which consists of copper and zinc. The Bronze is a metal alloy of copper along with tin (at times other metals, nonmetals and metalloids are also added) and the German silver consists of copper, zinc and nickel.

Thus, all the three alloys have the option (C)- Cu, that is, copper metal common in them.

Note: The combining of the metals to form an alloy is simply not done by mixing them in solid forms. Rather it can be done in the following ways:
- By converting into powder forms and then mixed and fused together under high pressure and temperature.
- Through solid solution form, where they are melted, mixed and then cooled to form the alloy.
- One of the most accurate ways available to prepare the alloy is by injecting the ions of the elements with few or more electrons in them, into the uppermost layer of the parent metal.