REACTIVITY

Reactivity is the tendency of a substance to undergo a chemical reaction.

OR
Reactivity refers to how likely or vigorously an atom is to react with other substances.
 OVERVIEW OF UNIT - REACTIVITY
REACTIVITY OF METALS

A. Reactions of metals with: B. Order of reactivity C. Uses of the reactivity series

Reactivity
series Everyday
1. Oxygen uses of
2. Water Displacement reactions metals in Extraction of
3. Acids different metals from
atmospheric their ores.
Reactions of metals with other conditions
metal compounds
Metals and their reactions
with oxygen
 When soft metals are freshly cut they are lustrous,
but their shiny surfaces quickly tarnishes as they react with the oxygen in the air.
https://youtu.be/6ZY6d6jrq-0?si=PMWI9S9fttOJx7hy
 Reactions of metals with oxygen in air

• Observations:
• Metals Lithium, Sodium and Potassium react very quickly with oxygen.
The surface of the metal becomes less shiny as the layer of oxide
forms.
• When sodium is cut with knife it’s surface is shiny, silver coloured.
Within minutes it changes to dull grey as sodium reacts with the
oxygen in the air to form a layer of sodium oxide.
• Equation for the reaction of sodium with oxygen is:
sodium + oxygen sodium oxide

Lithium and Potassium have a similar equation.

Let’s see the reaction of other metals in air in this video https://youtu.be/hQyJIxiSvUA?si=QGHd7HKPxKxkFFlc
Colour of the flame when the following metals
are heated in air
 Heating metals in air
Reactants Observation Product Order
Iron and oxygen Iron glows and produces yellow Iron oxide 4
sparks, a black product is left
behind
Calcium and oxygen Strong heating is Calcium oxide
required to ignite the 2
metal. it burns vigorously.
Sodium and oxygen It is ignited easily Sodium oxide
by gentle heating. Burns 1
vigorously with reddish yellow
flame.
Magnesium and oxygen Strong heating is required to ignite Magnesium
the metals. It burns with oxide
dazzling white flame. 3
Copper and oxygen It does not burn in air. They Copper (II) oxide
oxidize into oxides under strong
heating. 5
 Corrosion
Many metals react with oxygen in the air.
Over time, a thin layer of metal oxide covers the surface of the metal.
We call this tarnishing.

Some metals carry on reacting below the surface and their structure is
destroyed. This corrosion wears away the metal.

You can prevent this by painting the metal. How does the
paint stop the metal tarnishing?

Or you can choose a metal that does not react with the air –
like gold.

But a gold bridge would be very expensive!

Keywords
rusting corrosion
Match each word or phrase with its
unreactive metal oxide
correct meaning.
tarnishing patina

corrosion a metal breaking down by reacting with oxygen

(and sometimes moisture)
metal oxide a compound containing only a metal and oxygen
tarnishing to gather a thin layer of discoloration by
reacting with the air
unreactive describes a material that does not react
patina a thin layer of green on the surface of copper
rusting the corrosion of iron, which reacts with
oxygen and water to form flaky iron oxide
 In the pictures above you can see that sodium reacts quickly with the oxygen in air,
Iron reacts with damp air and turns into rust, the reaction is quite slow
The coins made up of nickel, steel and gold remain shiny for years. Their reaction with air is very slow.

This suggests that metals have different speeds with which they react with other chemicals

All metals that react with oxygen have a similar equation which we denote as general equation:

metal + oxygen metal oxide

Reactio
ns of
metals
with
water
Reactions of group 1 metals with water
Let’s observe another video on reaction of other
metals with water by clicking the link
https://youtu.be/sX-uzr8xhWY
 Reactions of metals with water
METAL OBSERVATION PRODUCTS
Lithium whizzes around on the surface of a big bowl of water. It Lithium hydroxide and
Lithium (Li) Hydrogen gas
makes bubbles of hydrogen gas.
Sodium hydroxide and
Sodium (Na) Hydrogen gas.
They react vigorously with cold water. The heat generated
from the reaction can ignite the metals. Potassium hydroxide and
Potassium (K) Hydrogen gas

It sinks in the water and bubbles of hydrogen gas are formed Calcium hydroxide and
Calcium (Ca) on its surface, slowly at first. Bubbles then increase in number Hydrogen gas
after sometime and the solution turns milky white.
Magnesium It reacts very slowly with hot water. It reacts with steam when Magnesium hydroxide and
(Mg) being heated and gives bubbles of hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas
Zinc (Zn) They do not react with cold or hot water. They react with Zinc oxide and Hydrogen gas
steam when being heated and give hydrogen gas and metal Aluminium oxide and
Aluminium Hydrogen gas
(Al) oxides. (Iron oxidizes to hydrated iron oxide (rust) when
oxygen is Iron oxide and Hydrogen gas
present in the water.)
Iron (Fe)

Does not react with water or steam. No products formed.

Copper (Cu)
• Metals that do not react with
water are very useful.
• Copper makes excellent water
pipes.
• Gold and silver rings are very
attractive, and you can’t damage
them by washing your hands.
 Order of reactivity
The table below summarises how vigorously some metals react with water:

Reacts slowly with hot water

Reacts with steam

All metals that react with water have a similar equation which we denote as general equation:

metal + water metal oxide or hydroxide + hydrogen

The metals that react vigorously with oxygen also react vigorously with water.
Is there a similar pattern for the reactions of metals with acids?
REACTIONS OF
METALS WITH
ACIDS
9F Reaction of metals with acid

What if we react different metals with acid?

copper
lead
iron
sodium
– the
magnesium––no
the
metal
bubbles,
metal
reacts
– bursts
novery
theslowly,
reaction
into
slowly,
metalproducing
flames,
with
producing
acid
a very
reacts a fewstrong
very
bubbles
few
quickly reaction
bubbles
with the acid,
producing lots of bubbles
Let’s watch the videos by pressing on the links
given below:
https://youtu.be/Na_6j9y9ke8
https://youtu.be/l0U7VDSxGHk
 Observation table
Metals Reactivity
Sodium
They react explosively with dilute hydrochloric acid.
Potassium
Calcium It reacts readily with dilute hydrochloric acid to produce bubbles of Hydrogen
gas
Magnesium It reacts moderately with dilute hydrochloric acid to produce bubbles of
Hydrogen gas
Aluminium
Zinc They react slowly with dilute hydrochloric acid.

Iron
Tin It reacts very slowly with dilute hydrochloric acid
Copper It doesn’t react with dilute hydrochloric acid.
 Word equations for the reactions :

• magnesium + hydrochloric acid magnesium chloride + hydrogen

Magnesium chloride is a salt. A salt is a compound made when a metal replaces the
hydrogen in an acid.
• zinc + hydrochloric acid zinc chloride + hydrogen
• iron + hydrochloric acid iron chloride + hydrogen
Every metal that reacts with hydrochloric acid makes a salt and hydrogen gas. Thus
the general reaction can be given as shown below:

metal + (dilute)acid metal salt + hydrogen gas

The reactivity series of metals
Page 86
Most reactive K Potassium Please
Na Sodium Stop
Ca Calcium Calling
Mg Magnesium Me
Al Aluminium A
C Carbon Careless
Zn Zinc Zebra
Fe Iron Instead
Sn Tin Try
Pb Lead Learning
H Hydrogen How
Cu Copper Copper
Hg Mercury Makes
Ag Silver Stories of
Au Gold Gold
Least reactive Pt Platinum Plates
Page 86
 Metals have different levels of reactivity
The reactivity series is a list of metals with the most reactive metals at the top
Page 87
Let’s summarise the concept of reactivity series by watching the video in
the link given below

https://youtu.be/TGPPPFczOj0
DISPLACEMEN
T REACTIONS
https://youtu.be/zU62hh3DBfg
Copper – a vital metal
• Copper is an important metal.
• Its properties make it perfect for electrical equipment, water pipes, and heat exchangers.
• Worldwide, we produce about 15 million tonnes of the metal each year.
• In 2009 Indonesia alone produced nearly 1 million tonnes of copper.
• World reserves of copper will not last forever. This is why we recycle copper.
• Companies also extract copper from copper ore waste.
• This is how they do it:
● Spray dilute sulfuric acid onto copper ore waste. This makes copper sulfate solution.
● Add waste iron to the copper sulfate solution.
• The products of the reaction are copper and iron sulfate.
• The equation below shows the reaction of iron with copper sulfate solution:
iron + copper sulfate copper + iron sulfate
This is an example of a displacement reaction.
Iron is more reactive than copper. It has displaced – or pushed out – copper from its compound.

Let’s watch a reaction of iron nails with copper sulfate solution

https://youtu.be/TgRRv968KXs
 Reactivity series of metals and understanding the term
Most reactive K Potassium Please ‘displacement’

Na Sodium Stop
Ca Calcium Calling A more reactive metal can replace
Mg Magnesium Me a less reactive metal in a
salt/compound
Al Aluminium A
C Carbon Careless
Zn Zinc Zebra We saw in the video the iron nail
Fe Iron Instead had been coated with copper.
Iron is more reactive than copper
Sn Tin Try
so it ‘pushes out’ copper from it’s
Pb Lead Learning salt solution
H Hydrogen How
Cu Copper Copper
Hg Mercury Makes This ‘pushing out’ is called
Ag Silver Stories of displacement, so these type of
reactions are called as
Au Gold Gold ‘displacement reactions’
Least reactive Pt Platinum Plates
Page 86
 A displacement reaction happens
when one metal replaces another
one in a compound.

Magnesium is more reactive

than copper.

Magnesium displaces copper

from copper sulphate solution.

What evidence can you see that a reaction has happened?

Complete the word equation.

magnesium + copper sulphate magnesium sulphate + ?

 Using
displaceme
nt reactions
 REMEMBER!!! A more reactive metal can replace a less reactive metal in a salt/compound
Most reactive K Potassium
They are highly
Na Sodium reactive, so they do
Ca Calcium High reactivity not occur in free state.
They are always
Mg Magnesium present in combined
Al Aluminium stated as compounds
C Carbon
Zn Zinc
Fe Iron They are always
Medium reactivity present in combined
Sn Tin
stated as compounds
Pb Lead
H Hydrogen
Cu Copper
Hg Mercury
Most of them occur in
Ag Silver ‘free state’ as metals.
Low reactivity
Au Gold Cu and Ag can be
found in free state as
Least reactive Pt Platinum well as combined state.
 METAL COMPOUNDS AND THE REACTIVITY SERIES
• The higher a metal in the reactivity series, the more strongly its atoms
are joined to atoms of other elements in compounds.
• The more strongly the atoms of a compound are joined, the more
difficult it is to extract an element from the compound.
A natural material in which metals or their compounds are found in
earth is called as a MINERAL.
Mineral is made up of

Metal Impurities

It can be in less % If impurities are

Those minerals from which It can be in more % OR
OR more then process
metals can be extracted It can be in less %
It can be in more % of extraction
conveniently and profitably
are called as ‘Ores’ becomes difficult
FINDING METALS
All the metals we use are found
in the Earth.

To extract the metal, we first dig

up the ore.

Then we carry out chemical

reactions to get the pure metal
out of its compound.

The cost of a metal depends on:

• how hard it is to find and dig up the ore
• how reactive the metal is.

Why is the reactivity so important?

 The easy ones are at the bottom
• Gold and silver are simple to extract. You might find lumps lying
around in river beds
• (if you’re lucky!). You just pick them up.
• You can separate gold by placing the mixture in a pan, and adding
water.
potassium
• Gold is more dense than sand and gravel. It sinks to the bottom of
sodium the pan.
magnesium
aluminium You can also find copper metal in some rocks. Sometimes
(carbon) you find copper oxide in ore, but it’s easy to extract.
zinc
iron Carbon is cheap and plentiful (as coal). If you heat copper oxide
lead
(hydrogen)
with carbon, the carbon takes the oxygen to make carbon dioxide
copper and leaves copper metal. What sort of reaction is this?
silver
gold Write a word equation for copper oxide reacting with carbon.
 Getting tougher
Zinc, iron and lead are found in the Earth as compounds, in ores.
potassium Like copper, they can be extracted by heating with carbon.
sodium
magnesium
aluminium The carbon takes the oxygen from the metal to make carbon dioxide.
(carbon)
zinc
It often needs a very high temperature: about 700°C for iron.
iron
lead Zinc needs a higher temperature than lead. Why?
(hydrogen)
copper
Write a word equation to show the displacement reaction
silver
gold when lead oxide reacts with carbon.

lead oxide + carbon lead + carbon dioxide

 A pattern of reactions
• Zinc, and metals below zinc in the reactivity series, can be
potassium
sodium extracted from their oxides by heating with carbon.
magnesium • The reactions work because carbon is more reactive than
aluminium
(carbon)
these metals.
zinc • Carbon is chosen because it is cheap, and there is plenty of it.
iron
lead • It is possible to extract iron from iron oxide by heating with a
(hydrogen) more reactive metal, like magnesium.
copper
silver • But magnesium is rarer than iron. It is much more expensive
gold
potassium The awkward are at the top
sodium
magnesium
aluminium Potassium, sodium, magnesium and aluminium are very
(carbon) difficult to extract.
zinc They are very reactive. They hold on tightly to the other
iron
lead elements in their compounds.
(hydrogen)
copper Carbon cannot displace these elements no matter how hard
silver you heat it. Why not?
gold
We use electrolysis to extract these metals from their ores. An
electric current passes through the molten mineral. This breaks
it down so we get out the pure metal. The process is very
expensive.
 IRON - A VITAL METAL
Extraction of Iron by using displacement
reaction
• Iron is a vital metal. It is present nearly in all the metal objects we use.
• Most iron exists as oxides in the Earth’s crust.
• The iron oxides are heated with

Aluminium Carbon

Thermite reaction Reaction in a blast furnace

 Thermite reaction
Iron(III) oxide + Aluminium Aluminium oxide + Iron + heat
Write the chemical equation and balance it
A thermite reaction is basically iron(III)oxide (rust) reacting with aluminum to produce
molten iron. The products are aluminium oxide, elemental iron, and a large amount of
heat. It is highly exothermic reaction.
The reactants are commonly aluminum powder and iron(III)oxide (rust) powder.
When the mixture is heated, it starts reacting as the aluminum is more reactive than the
iron and aluminium forms stronger and stable bonds with oxygen than iron.
In order for the reaction to take place, the mixture of iron oxide and aluminium has to be
ignited.
This is done by using another exothermic reaction, this time reacting magnesium powder
and barium nitrate.
This provides the required amount of energy to start the reaction between iron oxide and
aluminium.
Let’s watch a video to understand thermite reaction
by pressing the link-
https://youtu.be/5uxsFglz2ig
Thus the thermite reaction is used in-
1. Welding broken railway tracks
2. Thermites have extremely high temperature and also been used in
metal refining
3. Some thermite-like mixtures are used in fireworks.
 Extraction of iron from it’s ore by using carbon

• Carbon is a non-metal but it can be used to displace some metals

from their compounds.
• People discovered that carbon can displace iron about 3500 years
ago.
• They discovered that iron ore when heated with charcoal(a form of
carbon) at a very high temperature produced molten iron.
• Today this reaction is still carried out, but on a large scale, in a blast
furnace.
 Blast furnace

Air being forced or supplied above An enclosed structure where

atmospheric pressure for combustion material can be heated to a
very high temperature.

Let us watch the video on blast furnace https://youtu.be/9N6uXQ8KRYc

Watch the video on reducing metal oxides by pressing on the given linkhttps://youtu.be/iP1Im4QILS0
 Throat

300°C

Stack
500°C

Iron oxide + carbon Iron + carbon dioxide

900°C
Displacement reaction
1200°C between carbon and iron Belly
tuyeres oxide takes place here
~2000°C
Bosh

Hearth