Question

The second most abundant metal present in the crust of the earth is:
(A) Ca
(B) Al
(C) Cu
(D) Fe

Answer 1

Hint: It is a grey metal which is soft in nature. It is a good conductor of heat and electricity. It is ferromagnetic in nature. It is a d-block element and has an atomic number of 26.

Complete step by step solution:
The abundance of the element indicates the amount of that element in the earth’s crust. The abundance of elements is measured in parts per million (ppm) in terms of concentration.
The percentages of elements given in the question are as follows:
1) Ca- 4.15%
2) Al- 8.23%
3) Cu- 0.006%
4) Fe – 5.63%
The second most abundant metal in the earth’s crust is Iron. It occurs in a combined state. The main ores of iron are magnetite, hematite, limonite, siderite, iron pyrites, and chalcopyrite. India possesses one-fourth of the total world reserve of iron. Metallic iron is rarely found on the surface of the earth as it gets oxidized easily. The inner core of iron generally consists of iron-nickel alloy. Igneous rocks contain sulfide minerals such as pyrrhotite and pentlandite. During weathering, iron gets leached from sulphide deposits. Large deposits of iron are in the form of banded types of iron. This type of iron has repeated thin layers of iron oxide.
Iron is extracted especially from the ores such as magnetite, hematite and limonite ores. Magnetite is the richest ore of iron. The extraction of iron can be done by following steps:
1.) Concentration of ore
2.) Calcination and roasting
3.) Smelting
Chemical properties of Iron: Iron is the most widely used metals. This is due to low cost and high strength of iron. Iron has an atomic number as 26. The electronic configuration of iron is $[Ar]3{d^6}4{s^2}$. The most common oxidation states of the iron are +2 and +3. Iron is the most reactive in its group. But it does not react with dilute nitric acid or other oxidizing acids due to the formation of an oxide layer on it.

So, the answer is (D).

Note: Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust. If asked for the more abundant elements in the earth’s crust then, oxygen and silicon have more percentage abundance.