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Copper |
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Copper is a ductile metal with excellent electrical conductivity, and finds extensive use as an electrical conductor, heat conductor, as a building material, and as a component of various alloys.
Copper is an essential trace nutrient to all high plants and animals. In animals, including humans, it is found primarily in the bloodstream, as a co-factor in various enzymes, and in copper-based pigments. However, in sufficient amounts, copper can be poisonous and even fatal to organisms.
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Zinc |
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Zinc is a moderately reactive, blue gray metal that tarnishes in moist air and burns in air with a bright bluish-green flame, giving off fumes of zinc oxide. It reacts with acids, alkalis and other non-metals. If not completely pure, zinc reacts with dilute acids to release hydrogen. The one common oxidation state of zinc is +2. From 100 °C to 210 °C (212 °F to 410 °F) zinc metal is malleable and can easily be beaten into various shapes. Above 210 °C (410 °F), the metal becomes brittle and will be pulverized by beating. Zinc is nonmagnetic.
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Lead |
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Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, ductile, very soft, highly malleable, bluish-white metal that has poor electrical conductivity. This true metal is highly resistant to corrosion, and because of this property, it is used to contain corrosive liquids (e.g. sulfuric acid). Lead can be toughened by adding a small amount of antimony or other metals to it. It is a common misconception that lead has a zero Thomson effect. All lead, except 204Pb, is the end product of a complex radioactive decay (see isotopes of lead below).
Metallic lead does occur in nature, but it is rare. Lead is usually found in ore with zinc, silver and (most abundantly) copper, and is extracted together with these metals. The main lead mineral is galena (PbS), which contains 86.6% lead. Other common varieties are cerussite (PbCO3) and anglesite (PbSO4).
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