Iron smelting

High school (ages 12+)
Making & Design

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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/iron-smelting

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. What is the primary reducing agent in bloomery furnaces?Carbon monoxide (CO)
2. What is the approximate melting point of pure iron?1538°C (2800°F)
3. What is iron smelting and why is it important?Iron smelting is the process of melting rocks to make strong metal for tools and buildings. It began around 1200 BCE and marked the start of the Iron Age, changing how people lived.
4. How do people turn iron ore into metal?They heat iron oxides with charcoal in a furnace. The charcoal makes carbon monoxide, which removes oxygen from the ore and leaves iron.

Redox Reaction: A chemical reaction involving the transfer of electrons between species, such as the removal of oxygen from iron ore.
Bloomery: An early type of furnace used to produce wrought iron directly from ore, yielding a spongy mass of iron.
Blast Furnace: A tall, chimney-like furnace used for smelting iron ore, producing molten pig iron.
Pig Iron: An intermediate product of smelting iron ore in a blast furnace, high in carbon and brittle.