9.4. Reactivity series
A subsection of Chemistry, 0620, through 9. Metals
Listing 10 of 452 questions
The table below describes the reaction of some metals with water. metal reaction calcium reacts rapidly with cold water producing many bubbles of gas magnesium reacts very slowly with cold water but reacts rapidly with steam rubidium reacts very rapidly with cold water producing many bubbles of gas and will explode zinc only reacts with steam when in powdered form and heated very strongly Put these metals in order of their reactivity. least reactive most reactive The list below shows part of the reactivity series. potassium sodium aluminium carbon zinc iron increasing reactivity Give the names of two metals from this list that can be extracted from their oxide ores by heating with carbon. and A magnesium atom has 12 electrons. Complete the diagram below to show the electronic structure of an atom of magnesium. Mg An isotope of magnesium has a nucleon number (mass number) of 26. Deduce the number of neutrons in one atom of this isotope of magnesium.
0620_s13_qp_22
THEORY
2013
Paper 2, Variant 2
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The reactivity series shows the metals in order of reactivity. The reactivity series can be established using displacement reactions. A piece of zinc is added to aqueous lead nitrate. The zinc becomes coated with a black deposit of lead. Zn + Pb2+ → Zn2+ + Pb Zinc is more reactive than lead. The reactivity series can be written as a list of ionic equations. → + most reactive metal : the best reductant (reducing agent) Zn → Zn2+ + 2e– Fe → Fe2+ + 2e– Pb → Pb2+ + 2e– Cu → Cu2+ + 2e– Ag → Ag+ + e– In the space at the top of the list, write an ionic equation for a metal which is more reactive than zinc. Write an ionic equation for the reaction between aqueous silver(nitrate and zinc. Explain why the positive ions are likely to be oxidants (oxidising agents). Deduce which ion is the best oxidant (oxidising agent). Which ionin the list can oxidise lead metal? A reactivity series can also be established by measuring the voltage of simple cells. The diagram shows a simple cell. V voltmeter copper electrode sulfuric acid cadmium electrode Results from cells using the metals tin, cadmium, zinc and copper are given in the table below. cell electrode 1 positive electrode electrode 2 negative electrode voltage / volts copper cadmium 0.74 copper tin 0.48 copper zinc 1.10 Write the four metals in order of increasing reactivity and explain how you used the data in the table to determine this order.
0620_s13_qp_31
THEORY
2013
Paper 3, Variant 1
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A student carried out an experiment to find the order of reactivity of five metals. They were tested with cold water, hot water and steam and the results recorded in a table. metal cold water hot water steam V no reaction reacts slowly vigorous reaction W no reaction no reaction slow reaction X reacts slowly vigorous reaction not attempted Y no reaction no reaction no reaction Z vigorous reaction explosive reaction not attempted What is the order of reactivity of these metals?
0620_s14_qp_12
MCQ
2014
Paper 1, Variant 2
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One way of establishing a reactivity series is by displacement reactions. A series of experiments was carried out using the metals lead, magnesium, zinc and silver. Each metal was added in turn to aqueous solutions of the metal nitrates. The order of reactivity was found to be: magnesium most reactive zinc ↓ lead silver least reactive Complete the table. = reacts = does not react metal aqueous solution lead Pb magnesium Mg zinc Zn silver Ag lead(nitrate    magnesium nitrate zinc nitrate silver nitrate Displacement reactions are redox reactions. On the following equation, draw a ring around the reducing agent and an arrow to show the change which is oxidation. Zn + Pb2+ → Zn2+ + Pb Complete the following ionic equation. Zn + 2Ag+ → + Another way of determining the order of reactivity of metals is by measuring the voltage and polarity of simple cells. The polarity of a cell is shown by which metal is the positive electrode and which metal is the negative electrode. An example of a simple cell is shown below. zinc electrode lead electrode electrolyte of dilute acid voltmeter + – V Mark on the above diagram the direction of the electron fl ow. Explain, in terms of electron transfer, why the more reactive metal is always the negative electrode. The following table gives the polarity of cells using the metals zinc, lead, copper and manganese. cell electrode 1 polarity electrode 2 polarity A zinc – lead + B manganese – lead + C copper + lead – What information about the order of reactivity of these four metals can be deduced from the table? What additional information is needed to establish the order of reactivity of these four metals using cells?
0620_s14_qp_31
THEORY
2014
Paper 3, Variant 1
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Questions Discovered
452