Reactions of Metals

You can use the reactions of different metals with dilute acids to work out how reactive they are

ACID + METAL = SALT + HYDROGEN

Heres the typical experiment:

• The more reactive the metal, the faster the reaction will go. Very reactive metals (e.g. sodium) react explosively
• The speed of reaction is indicated by the rate at which the bubbles of hydrogen are given off
• The hydrogen is confirmed by the burning splint test
• Magnesium- Big squeaky pop! Magnesium reacts vigorously with cold dilute acids and produces loads of bubbles
• Aluminium- Fair old sqeauky pop! Sluminium doesn't react much with cold dilute acids because it has a portective aluminium oxide layer. But, it…