The Reactivity Series

• Potassium + water --> potassium hydroxide + hydrogen


  This causes an extremely vigorous reaction
• Group 1 metals react vigorously with water
• The reactivity series of group 1 metals is:

  • Potassium
  • Sodium
  • Lithium
  • Calcium
  • Magnesium
  • Zinc
  • Iron
  • Copper
• Potassium, sodium, and lithium react very rapidly with water at room temperature
• To compare the reactivity of magnesium, zinc, iron, and copper, we need to react them with dilute acids