Metals

• Metals react with oxygen, water, steam, and dilute acid
• Potassium (K):

  • Forms oxides and peroxides
  • Violent reaction with water, metal darts on surface, hissing sound, sparks formed
  • Forms metal hydroxide and hydrogen gas
  • No reaction with steam
  • Reduced by carbon (or carbon monoxide) to form the metal and carbon monoxide (or carbon dioxide)
• Calcium (Ca):

  • Forms oxides
  • Metal sinks in water, effervescence seen
  • Forms metal hydroxide and hydrogen gas with water
  • Violent reaction with steam
  • Reacts violently with acid to form salt and hydrogen gas
• Magnesium (Mg):

  • Very slow reaction with water, few bubbles on surface of solid
  • Forms metal hydroxide and hydrogen gas
  • Fast reaction with steam to form oxide and hydrogen gas
  • Reacts fast to form salt and hydrogen gas
• Aluminum (Al):

  • No reaction with water
  • No reaction due to unreactive aluminium oxide layer
  • Slow reaction due to aluminium oxide layer
• Zinc (Zn):

  • Reacts with steam to form oxides and hydrogen gas
  • Oxide of iron is Fe3O4
  • Reacts to form salt and hydrogen gas
  • No reaction with dilute acid
  • Reduced by carbon (or carbon monoxide) to form the metal and carbon monoxide (or carbon dioxide)
• Iron (Fe):

  • Reduced by hydrogen to form the metal and water vapour
  • No reaction with water
  • Reduced by carbon (or carbon monoxide) to form the metal and carbon monoxide (or carbon dioxide)
• Lead (Pb):

  • No reaction with water
  • Very slow reaction with dilute acid
• Hydrogen (H), Copper (Cu), Silver (Ag):

  • No reaction with water
  • Decomposes to form metal and carbon dioxide
• Alloys:

  • Iron is often made into steel (Fe & C)
  • Stronger due to disruption of orderly arrangement of atoms, more resistant to corrosion
• Displacement reactions of metals:

  • Reactive metals can displace less reactive metals from their salt solutions
  • Iron displaces copper from copper(II) sulphate solution
  • Iron is oxidised while copper(II) sulphate is reduced
  • Iron is reducing agent while copper(II) sulphate is oxidising agent
• Reactivity Increases Down Group I (Alkali Metals):

  • Size of atoms increase down the group
  • Bigger atoms lose valence electrons more easily as they react
• Transition metals:

  • High melting point/boiling point, high density
  • Form coloured compounds, have variable oxidation states, good catalysts
  • Iron (Fe) is used in Haber process to produce NH3 gas
• K, Na, Ca, Mg, Al, Zn reaction when reduced by carbon / carbon monoxide:

  No reaction (Metals are very reactive and form very stable oxides; A lot of energy is required to overcome the strong electrostatic forces of attraction between the ions)
• The more reactive the metal...


  The more stable the oxide
• Metals that do not decompose when heat is applied:

  • Potassium, Sodium
  • Does not decompose because reactive metals form very stable carbonates
• Metals that decompose to form metal oxides and carbon dioxide when heat is applied:

  • Calcium
  • Magnesium
  • Aluminum
  • Zinc
  • Iron
  • Lead
  • Hydrogen
  • Copper
• Metals extracted by electrolysis of molten ore:

  • Potassium
  • Sodium
  • Calcium
  • Magnesium
  • Aluminum
• Metals reduced by coke:

  • Zinc
  • Iron
  • Lead
  • Hydrogen (not a metal)
  • Copper
  • Silver
• Metals that decompose to form metal and carbon dioxide when heat is applied:

  • Calcium
  • Magnesium
  • Aluminum
  • Zinc
  • Iron
  • Lead
  • Hydrogen
  • Copper
  • Silver
• Alloys:

  • Iron is often made into steel (Fe & C)
  • Alloys are stronger because atoms of different sizes cause disruption of the orderly arrangement of atoms
  • The layers of atoms in alloys will not slide or break apart easily when force is applied
  • Alloys are more resistant to corrosion
• Water (H2O) + Metal (M) → Hydroxide (MOH) + Hydrogen Gas (H2)
• Copper is a transition element which means it has variable oxidation states. It can be found in its +1 state (Cu+), +2 state (Cu2+) and +3 state (Cu3+).