

Join Seneca to get 250+ free exam board specfic A Level, GCSE, KS3 & KS2 online courses. Want to learn more about Reactivity Series? Because of this, the metal has to be extracted from the ore (rock) where the metal compound is found. Most metals are only found as compounds because the metal has reacted with other elements in the past. Most metals react with dilute acids to produce a salt and hydrogen gas. Potassium, sodium and lithium all react quickly with cold water to produce a metal hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Platinum, however, is less reactive than copper and so cannot displace copper from a copper sulfate solution. Magnesium + copper sulfate → magnesium sulfate + copper Sodium is higher up in the reactivity series. An example of a battery is sodium and sulphur. Magnesium is more reactive than copper, so magnesium can displace copper from a copper sulfate solution to create magnesium sulfate. In all cells the flow of electrons result from chemical reactions. A displacement reaction happens when a more reactive metal (one that forms positive ions more easily) displaces a less reactive metal from a compound. This is called a displacement reaction.Ī metal can only displace another metal from a compound if it is located above it in the reactivity series. These are called native metals.Ī more reactive metal (one that forms positive ions more easily) can displace a less reactive metal from a compound. The mnemonic to remember the reactivity series of metal is : Please stop cal. Very unreactive metals, such as gold and platinum, are found in the Earth’s crust as pure metals. Learn the reactivity series of metal through this simple yet effective mnemonic. There are a number of practical experiments that are required by GCSE courses in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and for the Leaving Certificate in the Republic of Ireland. Metals can be arranged in order of their reactivity. The easier it is for a metal to form its positive ion, the more reactive the metal is. to make half equations:īy writing our equation in this way, we can immediately see that copper had to gain two electrons ( reduced) in this reaction, and those electrons came from magnesium ( oxidised).When metals react with other substances, the metal atoms always form positive ions.


These look at how the electrons behave. We can see there are only two different chemicals involved, and we can split our equation in half. Once we have an ionic equation, we can take it one step further and look at half equations. These are of no interest in the reaction, so we can ignore them and write out our ionic equation: Video clips and animations Reaction between copper(II) oxide and magnesium The Thermite reaction Reduction of copper(II) oxide by carbon Reaction between. We can identify the ions that don't change, these are called the spectator ions. Then we can write out all the ions involved:Ĭu²⁺(aq) + SO 4²⁻(aq) + Mg(s) → Cu(s) + Mg²⁺(aq) + SO 4²⁻(aq) This is useful as it shows what is oxidised and reduced. We can start by writing a balanced symbol equation for a reaction: Ionic equations only show us the ions that change in a chemical reaction.

This is very costly, in terms of both money and energy. The metals potassium, sodium, lithium, calcium, magnesium. Metals more reactive than carbon have to be extracted using electrolysis. This video explains how metals can be arranged in order of their reactivity in a reactivity series. As the carbon is more reactive, it will displace the metal in its ore - reducing the metal. Understanding the reactivity series is fundamental to chemistry. Metals less reactive than carbon can be extracted by heating the metal with carbon. The reactivity series lists elements (mostly metals) in order of decreasing reactivity. Metals less reactive than hydrogen are generally found in their elemental form in the Earth's crust ( native state). The non-metals hydrogen and carbon are often included in the reactivity series to give an indication about how the metals can be extracted. The metals potassium, sodium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron and copper can be put in order of their reactivity from their reactions with water and dilute acids. Metals can be arranged in order of their reactivity in a reactivity series. The reactivity of a metal is related to its tendency (how likely it is) to form positive ions. Author: Kelly Ryder Created Date: 05:32:00 Title: Reactivity series of metals worksheets follow-up Description: Supports the RSC practical video Reactivity series of metals Keywords. When metals react with other substances the metal atoms form positive ions. Reactivity series of metals Supporting resources.
