• Question: Is gold a metal?

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      Asked by Rosie Roo to Elizabeth, James, Martin, Martin, Rob on 17 Mar 2015.
      • Photo: James Coombs OBrien

        James Coombs OBrien answered on 17 Mar 2015:

        Yes it is!
        It’s actually quite a soft metal. So soft that if you get a block of pure gold you can bash it into different shapes.
        When gold is part of jewellery it is mixed with other metals to make it tougher. You can tell how much gold is in jewellery by the number of carats. The higher the number of carats the more gold you have!

        Gold also doesn’t really react with anything which is why so many people buy it. You don’t want to put your money into something that is going to disappear by reacting with stuff!

        Thanks a lot!

      • Photo: Elizabeth Cooper

        Elizabeth Cooper answered on 18 Mar 2015:

        Yes gold is a metal! Gold is a transition metal and is group 11 element in the periodic table.

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