why is iron never found naturally as the metal?

Answer 1

All metals carry a voltage potential. This is why we can put two disparate metals (like copper and zinc) into some sort of current carrying medium (like salt water) and create a battery.

Current from disparate metals is called galvanic action. And that can cause difficulties...check this out:

"A major cause of thread failure within a building or process plant environment is galvanic corrosion - where the carbon steel pipe directly meets a brass valve, or is transitioned to copper pipe. Here, the microvolt difference in electrical potential of the metals will produce a small current between them - the result of which is to greatly accelerate the deterioration of the more reactive and often termed "less noble" carbon steel pipe." [See source.]

In fact, we can rank metals according to their potentials. [See source.] The higher they are up in the ranking, the more they are likely to react (combine) with some other element. Iron is about 1/3 of the way down the cited list, making it relatively reactive. Carbon (C) on the other hand is at the bottom of the list and we would expect to see it in pure form all over the place. And we do: diamonds and coal are two such examples.

Answer 2

I think you need to word this differently. Iron (Fe) is found naturally (rarely pure, mostly crude and impure), but the way we see it in construction is usually in steel (due to carbon content and heat treatment). So in fact is is found naturally, usually in iron ore

Answer 3

pure iron is very reactive. When exposed to air, it'll reacts with the moisture to form oxide which is rust.

Answer 4

in natural iron will be eating out in a fast as in corrosion

Answer 5

It is reactive enough that it combines with things making a more stable state.

Answer 6

it easiy forms iron ores and iron oxides