Reactivity of Metals

What to all metals have in common?

All metals have an outer electron that they want to get rid of and when they do, they become positive ions. 

What is meant by the reactivity of metals?

It is how easily a metal can lose its electrons to become a positive ion.

• The metal that is highly reactive can easily lose its outer electron - the electron will just go pop out of its electron field.
• The metal that is less reactive will find it hard to lose its outer electron. 

What is the Order of the reactivity series?

1. The highly reactive metals are Group 1: Potassium, Sodium, Lithium 

2. Next reactive metals comes the Group 2: Calcium, Magnesium 

3. Then the least reactive is the transition metals: Zinc, Iron, Copper 

How do you test the reactivity of metals? 

By applying the metals in both water and acid and see if their reaction (resulting behaviour) is fast or violent. 

What does reacting metal with acid make?

Metal + Acid makes Salt + Hydrogen 

What observation, reaction will you see when reacting metals with acid according to their reactivity?

If the metal is more reactive then it will reactive explosively such as Potassium which will catch on fire and fiz around releasing Hydrogen gas. 

If the metal is less reactive its reaction will get less explosively until there is no reaction at all when reacting to acid. 

What other way will you know that a metal is either more or less reactive?

The temperature change 

• If the metal is highly reactive then there will be a high temperature change 
• If the metal is less reactive then there will be a lesser tempaerature change

What will you get when reacting a metal with water?

Metal + Water makes Metal Hydroxide + Hydrogen  

What is it called when a more reactive metal, substance dispaces a lesser reactive metal, substance?

Displacement Reaction

How do you make the experiment of reacting metals to water & acid a fair test?

• That each metal sample has the same mass and surface area. 
• And that the same type of acid is used with the same concentration each time.