Bauxite

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/bauxite

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Bauxite?1821
2. What is the discoverer?Pierre Berthier
3. What is the primary products?Aluminum and gallium
4. Where do people find bauxite?Bauxite is usually found in hot, humid places near the equator. It forms when rain and weather break down other rocks, leaving behind the aluminum-rich material.
5. How do we turn bauxite into aluminum metal?First, miners crush the bauxite and mix it with hot sodium hydroxide. This makes a liquid that is filtered, then cooled so aluminum hydroxide falls out. The solid is heated to make alumina, and then melted with electricity to produce aluminum metal.

Lateritic Ore: A soil and rock type rich in iron and aluminum oxides, formed in hot, wet tropical regions.
Amphoteric: A chemical compound that can act as both an acid and a base.
Calcination: The process of heating a solid material to a high temperature to cause chemical or physical changes.
Electrolysis: A process that uses electric current to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction.