Chemistry/Y4/Metal Extraction

Alloys
Pure metals tend to be soft and malleable, since the metals are arranged in neat regular rows that slide across each other easily when a force is applied. Hence, alloying a metal with another substance (another metal, or carbon) disrupts these regular rows, preventing them from sliding easily and hence increasing the resultant mixture (alloy)’s strength and hardness.

Steel
The hardness and brittleness of steel increases as the carbon content increases. Lower carbon steels are softer and more easily shaped.