Gold (Au) Chemistry Assignment

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1. Abstract 1.1 - Gold Gold was one of the earliest metals to have ever been discovered and to attract human attention (‘Gold’, The New Encyclopaedia Britannica). It is considered a transition metal and is believed by scientists that gold may possibly be found on Mars, Mercury and Venus, although initial findings have not yet been made. Many different chemical and physical properties help characterize what gold is like, such as its high melting and boiling points and its high density. Gold is also highly malleable and ductile which means it is able to be hammered into many shapes and can be drawn into long thin wires. The colour of this metal, a butter yellow with a metallic lustre, attracts many and is one of its most common recognised characteristics. Gold also has great infared reflectivity and has very low reactivity while in the presence of other elements. Gold’s resistance to corrosion is also what makes this metal so durable. 2. Introduction 2.1 – Gold Many topics in association with gold will be researched and summarised in this report. Such topics include the atomic structure and reactivity of the metal, the current prices, issues affecting these prices and future trends for this metal, physical and chemical properties that relate to gold’s specific uses, the common compounds formed by gold and the type of bonding involved for each compound, the extraction and refining process of the metal also including production figures, the various locations of mining within Australia, the importance and impact of the discovery of gold, the many alloys gold may form and other interesting facts related to gold. 3. Body 3.1 Metal 3.1.1 Name Gold is a transition metal with the chemical symbol Au, which is derived from the Latin word aurum (Wikipedia, 2007). The illustration included in the appendices section of this report shows the area of the periodic

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