Describe practical methods for investigating the rate of a reaction including change in mass of a reactant or a product and the formation of a gas

Describe the use of a flame test to identify the cations: (a) lithium, ( Li^+ ) (b) sodium, ( Na^+ ) (c) potassium, ( K^+ ) (d) calcium, ( Ca^{2+} ) (e) barium, ( Ba^{2+} ) (f) copper(II), ( Cu^{2+} )

Describe the reactions, if any, of: (a) potassium, sodium and calcium with cold water (b) magnesium with steam (c) magnesium, zinc, iron, copper, silver and gold with dilute hydrochloric acid and explain these reactions in terms of the position of the metals in the reactivity series