Q 01/05

Roughly what proportion of typical modern bronze is copper?

A) 50%

B) 65%

C) 75%

D) 88%

Answer · why

D) 88%

The rest is mostly tin, though aluminium, nickel, zinc, phosphorus or arsenic can be added for special properties.

Q 02/05

Which metal is the main non-copper ingredient of classic bronze?

A) Zinc

B) Lead

C) Tin

D) Nickel

Answer · why

C) Tin

Brass, by contrast, is copper alloyed with zinc, and old documents so often confused the two that museums now say "copper alloy".

Q 03/05

Which alloy is copper mixed mainly with zinc rather than tin?

A) Brass

B) Pewter

C) Solder

D) Steel

Answer · why

A) Brass

So-called "commercial bronze" (90% copper, 10% zinc) is really a brass by that definition.

Q 04/05

Which harder material, learned by blacksmiths working iron, eventually out-competed bronze for blades?

A) Pewter

B) Steel

C) Brass

D) Cast iron

Answer · why

B) Steel

Bronze is actually harder than wrought iron, but steel holds a sharper edge longer.

Q 05/05

Which age followed the Bronze Age in the three-age system?

A) The Stone Age

B) The Iron Age

C) The Copper Age

D) The Steel Age

Answer · why

B) The Iron Age

The Danish archaeologist Christian Jürgensen Thomsen devised the stone-bronze-iron sequence while sorting a museum collection.