Five questions about iron – Quick Quiz

By British Expat, 29 June 2020

Iron’s fundamental to our existence: we literally can’t live without it. It’s a key component of haemoglobin – the chemical component of blood that carries oxygen around our bodies. And it’s also the single most abundant substance in the Earth’s geological makeup. Small wonder that it’s so significant in our culture. How much do you know about it?

by Peter Scrimshaw CC BY-SA 2.0
1. The world’s first iron bridge was built near Coalbrookdale, Shropshire. In what year was it completed? For a bonus point, which river does it span?
2. Haematite is one of two “direct shipping ores” which can be fed direct into a blast furnace without refinement. What is the other?
3. Which nineteenth-century statesman was nicknamed the Iron Chancellor?
4. Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech named two cities at either end of the dividing line across Europe. Which were they?
5. “Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.” Name the song and the author.

Check your answers here!