Science question but.....

[Fazzu]

Hi everyone,

I just want to know the difference between metal,steel and iron?How do we recognise each of them?Which word is commonly used?(I think it's metal.Is it because most things are made up of metal than steel and iron?

These are Science questions but though they are some what related to English so I asked them.

Hope to get the answers.
Thanks.
Fazzu

[rewboss]

"Metal" is a general word for a certain class of material -- copper, tin, iron, gold, silver and mercury are all examples of metals.

Iron is one type of metal. It is an element with the atomic number 26 and chemical symbol Fe.

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. An "alloy" is a mixture; normally it's a mixture of metals (bronze is an alloy of copper and tin), but in this case it's carbon, which isn't a metal. Steel is much stronger than iron, so it's usually used as a building material.

[Fazzu]

So,metal is the commonly used word?

[rewboss]

They're all commonly used; they just have different meanings. A metal box is a box made of a metal, but without specifying which metal it is. But we have iron gates, steel girders, silver necklaces and gold earrings -- these are specific metals which are also commonly known. It's usually better to say which metal it is, especially when we want to emphasise the weight (iron), strength (steel) or high value (silver and gold) of something.