Metals and reactivity

• Reactivity Series


  List of metals in order of their reactivity towards other substances
• Reactivity Series


  • The higher up the series a metal is, the more easily it will form positive ions
  • When metals react with water or acid, they lose electrons and form positive ions
  • The higher a metal is in the reactivity series, the more easily it reacts with water or acid
• Determining the Reactivity Series

  1. Compare the relative reactivity of different metals with either an acid or water

  2. Order from most reactive to least reactive
• Reactivity Series


  • Potassium
  • Sodium
  • Lithium
  • Calcium
  • Magnesium
  • Carbon
  • Zinc
  • Iron
  • Hydrogen
  • Copper
• Metals less reactive than carbon


  Can be extracted from their ores by reduction with carbon
• Metals more reactive than hydrogen


  Will react with acids
• Metals less reactive than hydrogen

  Will not react with acids
• Reaction of metals with acids

  • Speed of reaction indicated by rate of hydrogen bubbles
  • More reactive metals react faster and more violently
• Reaction of metals with acids

  • Magnesium reacts vigorously
  • Zinc and iron react fairly slowly, but more strongly if heated
• Reaction of metals with water

  1. Metal + Water → Metal Hydroxide + Hydrogen

  2. Highly reactive metals like potassium, sodium, lithium and calcium will react with water

  3. Less reactive metals like zinc, iron and copper won't react with water
• Most metals aren't found in the earth in their pure form, they are usually found as compounds and have to be extracted
• Oxidation


  Reaction where metals react with oxygen to form oxides
• Reduction


  Reaction that separates a metal from its oxide
• Extraction of metals by reduction with carbon

  1. Ore is reduced as oxygen is removed, and carbon gains oxygen

  2. Metals below carbon in the reactivity series can be extracted by reduction with carbon
• Metals above carbon in the reactivity series have to be extracted using electrolysis, which is expensive
• A few metals are so unreactive that they are found in the earth as the metal itself, e.g. gold
• Carbon can't reduce things above it in the reactivity series