Question

Which term is used to denote the purity of gold?
1. Carat
2. Sterling
3. Shilling
4. Percentage

Answer 1

Hint: The term refers to a unit of mass equivalent to 200 mg. It is also used in addition to gold, for weighing other gemstones and pearls. At the Fourth General Conference on Weights and Measures, the current meaning of this concept was adopted in 1907.

Complete Answer:
- Gold is a chemical element with the Au (from Latin: aurum) symbol and atomic number 79, making it one of the naturally occurring higher atomic number elements. It is a shiny, slightly reddish yellow, thick, smooth, malleable and ductile metal in its pure form. Chemically, gold is a metal in transition and an element of group 11.
- A gold karat is 1/24 percent, or 4,1667 percent, of the whole and a gold alloy's purity is expressed as the amount of gold pieces it contains.
- 24K gold means 99.9 percent purity and is often referred to as pure gold as it does not contain any other metal traces. 22K suggests that 22 pieces of the metal are gold and the other two parts are certain other metals that make the gold texture tougher, making the metal more durable.
- 18 karat gold consists of 75 percent pure gold combined with 25 percent of other metals such as copper or silver, etc. 14 karat gold is made from 58.3 percent pure gold and 41.7 percent of other metals such as copper, zinc, silver and nickel. 10 karat gold is a gold alloy containing at least 41.7 percent gold and other alloys such as silver, nickel or zinc are the remainder.

Following are the given alternatives:
- Carat is the term used to describe the purity of gold. Option 1 is indeed, correct.
- In order to make the resulting compound more durable and less brittle, Sterling silver is an alloy produced when copper is added to pure silver. Option 2 is indeed, thus an incorrect option.
- Shilling until 1971, equivalent to twelve old pence, is a unit of money used in Britain. Option 3 is therefore incorrect.
- A number or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100 is a percentage. Option 4 is therefore an incorrect option.

Therefore, Option 1 is the right alternative.

Note: The biggest diamond that has ever been found is 3106 carats.
The only metal that is yellow or "golden." is gold.
- Almost all the Earth's gold came from meteorites that blasted the planet more than 200 million years after it was created.
- India, the world's largest user of gold, has the 11th largest reserve of gold, with the current holding pegged at 607 tonnes, according to the latest World Gold Council survey (WGC).