Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Chemistry

Chapter

Inorganic: General Principles and Processes of Isolation of Elements

Question:

Which of the following metals are reduced from molten salt solutions by electrolysis?

Options:

Aluminium

Silver

Iron

Zinc

Correct Answer:

Aluminium

Explanation:

The correct answer is option 1. Aluminium.

Out of the listed metals, only Aluminum \((Al)\) is typically reduced from molten salt solutions by electrolysis. Here's why:

Aluminum: Aluminium production is a major industrial application of electrolysis using molten salts. The electrolyte often consists of a mixture of molten aluminum oxide \((Al_2O_3)\) dissolved in other molten salts like cryolite \((Na_3AlF_6)\). During electrolysis, \(Al^{2+}\) ions are reduced to form metallic aluminum at the cathode.

Silver (Ag): Silver is usually obtained from its ores or recycled from scrap materials. Electrolysis can be used for electroplating silver onto other metals, but it's not the primary method for large-scale silver production.

Iron (Fe): Iron is primarily extracted from iron ore using a process called blast furnace reduction. Electrolysis is not a common method for iron production due to its lower efficiency compared to the blast furnace method.

Zinc (Zn): Zinc is mainly produced from the electrolysis of zinc sulfate \((ZnSO_4)\) solutions. However, this is an aqueous electrolysis process, not using molten salts.

Therefore, based on common industrial practices, Aluminium (Al) is the metal most likely to be reduced from molten salt solutions by electrolysis.