Activity Series - Lab Report

Armann Johal
11.24.2019
SCH3U9, Chemistry, Ms.Warner
Background Information

Activity Series

The activity series is a list of elements that are ordered based on the reactivity of those
elements. This allows us to know which elements are able to replace others. The
elements are typically placed in decreasing order, with the most reactive on top, and
least reactive at the bottom. There are two different activity series, one for metal, and
one for non metals. There are two activity series tables as metals can only replace metals
and nonmetals can only replace nonmetals. The activity series lets scientists and
researchers predict whether or not a reaction will occur.

Single Displacement Reactions

A single displacement reaction occurs when one element replaces another

element found in a compound. In a single displacement reaction, one element must be
pure with no other element with it, such as pure copper, and the compound must be
aqueous. When the reaction occurs, The pure element would replace an element in the
aqueous compound, allowing a different pure element and a new aqueous compound to
be formed. The formula below describes the pattern of a single replacement reaction.

AB(aq) + C -------> A+ BC(aq)

A single displacement reaction would only occur if the pure element is more
reactive compared to the element in the compound. This is when the activity series can
be used as it shows which elements are more reactive than others, which allows a person
to predict whether a reaction would occur. In the formula above, the pure element (C)
must be higher on the activity series than the element in the compound (A), to ensure
that the pure element can replace the compound element in the formula.

Purpose
The purpose of this experiment was to create an activity series table for the metals that
were provided by conducting single displacement reactions.

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Experimental Design

Image 1.1 Activity Series Lab Experimental Design

This image shows the experimental design. The copper was in the bottom row, the zinc
was in the top row, and the magnesium was in the second row. The solutions would be
placed into the column they were placed in front of in the image.

Materials

- Tin (IV) sulfate (Sn(SO4)2)

- Spot plate
- Six pieces of magnesium (Mg)
- Magnesium chloride (MgCl2)
- Six pieces of copper (Cu)
- Iron (III) chloride (FeCl3)
- Six pieces of zinc (Zn)

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 - Copper (II) sulfate (CuSO4)
- Zinc sulfate (ZnSO4)
- Hydrochloric acid (HCl)
- Steel Wool

Procedure

1. Gather necessary equipment for the experiment

2. Create a table (Table 1) that indicates each metal name to record reactions.
3. Place 1 piece of each metal in separate wells across the row.
4. Place samples of the same metal in separate wells down the columns.
5. Repeat step 4 using the other solutions
6. Observe the metals for 8-10 minutes
7. Record the qualitative observations for each metal in Table 1.1

Observations

Qualitative

Table 1.1 Reactions between Different Metals and Solutions

Metals
Solutions
Zinc Magnesium Copper

FeCl3 Orange Orange and bubbled NR

Sn(SO4)2 Bubbled Bubbled NR

CuSO4 Black Black/Orange NR

ZnSO4 NR Black NR

MgCl2 NR NR NR

HCl Intense Bubbling Intense Bubbling NR

This was the data collected from the experiment. It was noticed that copper did not react
to any of the solutions. It was also noticed that magnesium chloride did not react with
any of the pure metals.

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Results

Table 1.2

Activity Series Between Metals Used in The Activity Series Lab (Most to Least
Reactive)

Metals Ranking (Most to Least Reactive)

Magnesium (Mg)

Zinc (Zn)

Iron (Fe)

Tin (Sn)

Hydrogen (H)

Copper (Cu)
As seen in table 1.2, The magnesium was the highest on the activity series, and the
copper was the lowest. The metals were organized based on the results of the experiment
that showed the reactivity of each metal.

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Discussion
Question 3: Rank the metals you tested in order of reactivity, beginning with the
most reactive metal. Include lithium in your ranking.

Table 1.3

Activity Series Between Metals Used in The Activity Series Lab Including Lithium
(Most to Least Reactive)

Metals Ranking (Most to Least Reactive)

Lithium (Li)

Magnesium (Mg)

Zinc (Zn)

Iron (Fe)

Tin (Sn)

Hydrogen (H)

Copper (Cu)

In table 1.2, the metals in the experiment organized based on reactivity are shown. Since
there was no experiment conducted between iron and tin, the ranking was based on the
intensity of the reaction. When the zinc reacted with iron (III) chloride, the only change
that occurred was the change in the colour. But, when zinc reacted with tin (IV) sulfate,
there was a very small amount of bubbling which occurred. Since bubbling was shown
as more reactive, it meant that it was easier for zinc to replace tin than it was to replace
iron.

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Question #4: Explain how an activity series of metals can be used to predict single
displacement reactions.

An activity series of metals can be used to predict single displacement reactions by

seeing what metal was higher on the activity series. If the metal that was in the
compound was more reactive, there would never be any reaction, however, if the metal
that was alone was more reactive than the metal in the compound, there would be a
reaction. An example from the lab would be zine and iron(II) sulfate. Since zinc was
more reactive than Iron (II) sulfate, it replaced it to make zinc sulfate and pure iron (II).

Strengths and Limitations

Strengths of this experiment was that it was easily visible and to order elements that
were not tested for. By looking at the reactions between elements, it was easy to arrange
elements that were not tested, as the greater the reaction meant that the difference
between the elements was larger.

Limitations of this lab design would include the chances of contamination between the
metals. One factor would be human contact with the metal. If the hands of the
experimenter were not clean, the debris on the hands could contaminate the metals and
affect the results. This could be prevented by the use of gloves. When switching over to
the next metal, replace the gloves so that debris from the other metal does not affect the
other samples.

Errors
One systematic error was that the pieces for all the metals were different sizes. The
differences in size may have caused a change in the intensity of the reaction and the
duration. This error could be prevented by measuring the weight of the metals before
conducting the experiment. Another systematic error was the amount of solution that
may be placed on the pure elements. This may have also affected the intensity of the
reaction as well as the duration. This error could have been prevented by measuring the
amount of solution placed on the pure element before the experiment is conducted.

Conclusion
In conclusion, table 1.2 displays the result of the lab and the activity series that
was created. The magnesium was the highest on the activity spectrum, and the copper
was the lowest due to the reaction that occurred when the experiment was conducted.