Lesson test: Coal and iron

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Coal and iron

1.[2p]
Smelting a ton of pig iron took about 8 tons of wood as charcoal, and a coppice yields about 2 tons of wood per acre per year. How many acres of permanent woodland does each annual ton of pig iron require?

CorrectNot quite: 4

2.[3p]
Why did coke smelting spread slowly after Darby's success in 1709?

Coal contains sulphur, which passed into the iron and made it hard to forge into bar

Correct

Coke was more expensive than charcoal until the 1790s

The answer is: Coal contains sulphur, which passed into the iron and made it hard to forge into bar

Darby held a patent that blocked all other ironmasters for eighty years

The answer is: Coal contains sulphur, which passed into the iron and made it hard to forge into bar

Blast furnaces could not be built large enough to hold coke

The answer is: Coal contains sulphur, which passed into the iron and made it hard to forge into bar

3.[2p]
What advantage did coke have over charcoal that removed the ceiling on furnace size?

Coke is hard and does not crush under its own weight, so the furnace can be built taller

Correct

Coke burns at a lower temperature, so the furnace lining lasts longer

The answer is: Coke is hard and does not crush under its own weight, so the furnace can be built taller

Coke contains no sulphur at all

The answer is: Coke is hard and does not crush under its own weight, so the furnace can be built taller

Coke can be made on site from ore

The answer is: Coke is hard and does not crush under its own weight, so the furnace can be built taller

4.[3p]
Match each innovation to what it did.

Coke smelting
Puddling
Rolling
Hot blast

ore reduced without charcoal
preheated air cut fuel per ton
shaped iron faster than hammering
pig iron refined using coal heat

Show the answer

Coke smelting: ore reduced without charcoal Puddling: pig iron refined using coal heat Rolling: shaped iron faster than hammering Hot blast: preheated air cut fuel per ton

5.[2p]
Neilson's hot blast cut Scottish coal use from about 8 tons to about 2.5 tons per ton of pig iron. What percentage saving is that?

CorrectNot quite: 69

6.[2p]
The first steam engines were built to drain coal mines, and the coal they burned was worth almost nothing at the pithead.

True

Correct

False

The answer is: True

7.[3p]
Why is coal fundamentally different from charcoal as an industrial fuel?

Charcoal is a flow limited by how fast trees grow on a fixed area, while coal is a stock limited only by digging

Correct

Charcoal contains more energy per ton than coal

The answer is: Charcoal is a flow limited by how fast trees grow on a fixed area, while coal is a stock limited only by digging

Coal can be used without any furnace

The answer is: Charcoal is a flow limited by how fast trees grow on a fixed area, while coal is a stock limited only by digging

Charcoal cannot reduce iron ore at all

The answer is: Charcoal is a flow limited by how fast trees grow on a fixed area, while coal is a stock limited only by digging

8.[2p]
What did Wilkinson's boring machine of 1774 make possible?

A cylinder true enough for a steam engine to hold pressure and vacuum

Correct

The casting of the Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale

The answer is: A cylinder true enough for a steam engine to hold pressure and vacuum

The rolling of wrought iron into rails

The answer is: A cylinder true enough for a steam engine to hold pressure and vacuum

Standard screw threads across the whole of British engineering

The answer is: A cylinder true enough for a steam engine to hold pressure and vacuum

9.[3p]
Which of these are true of Davy's safety lamp of 1815?

Select all that apply

It followed the Felling colliery explosion of 1812, which killed 92 men and boys

Correct

It made gassier and deeper seams workable

Correct

Total deaths in British mining rose rather than fell after its adoption

Correct

It removed the need to ventilate deep pits

The answer is: It followed the Felling colliery explosion of 1812, which killed 92 men and boys, It made gassier and deeper seams workable, Total deaths in British mining rose rather than fell after its adoption

1.[2p] Smelting a ton of pig iron took about 8 tons of wood as charcoal, and a coppice yields about 2 tons of wood per acre per year. How many acres of permanent woodland does each annual ton of pig iron require?

2.[3p] Why did coke smelting spread slowly after Darby's success in 1709?

3.[2p] What advantage did coke have over charcoal that removed the ceiling on furnace size?

4.[3p] Match each innovation to what it did.

5.[2p] Neilson's hot blast cut Scottish coal use from about 8 tons to about 2.5 tons per ton of pig iron. What percentage saving is that?

6.[2p] The first steam engines were built to drain coal mines, and the coal they burned was worth almost nothing at the pithead.

7.[3p] Why is coal fundamentally different from charcoal as an industrial fuel?

8.[2p] What did Wilkinson's boring machine of 1774 make possible?

9.[3p] Which of these are true of Davy's safety lamp of 1815?

1.[2p]
Smelting a ton of pig iron took about 8 tons of wood as charcoal, and a coppice yields about 2 tons of wood per acre per year. How many acres of permanent woodland does each annual ton of pig iron require?

2.[3p]
Why did coke smelting spread slowly after Darby's success in 1709?

3.[2p]
What advantage did coke have over charcoal that removed the ceiling on furnace size?

4.[3p]
Match each innovation to what it did.

5.[2p]
Neilson's hot blast cut Scottish coal use from about 8 tons to about 2.5 tons per ton of pig iron. What percentage saving is that?

6.[2p]
The first steam engines were built to drain coal mines, and the coal they burned was worth almost nothing at the pithead.

7.[3p]
Why is coal fundamentally different from charcoal as an industrial fuel?

8.[2p]
What did Wilkinson's boring machine of 1774 make possible?

9.[3p]
Which of these are true of Davy's safety lamp of 1815?