EXPERIMENT 8

Duration About 40 minutes.

Reactivity of Metals

Safety Wear safety glasses and a laboratory coat. Be careful when handling acid. Aim The aim is to determine the reactivity of various metals and place them in order from the most reactive metal to the least reactive metal. Materials 1-2 cm strip of magnesium (Mg), 1-2 cm strip of Zinc (Zn), 1-2 cm strip of Tin (Sn), 1-2 cm strip of Copper (Cu), 1-2 cm strip of Lead (Pb) clean Iron nail (Fe) small granules of Calcium (Ca) Spatula

7 test-tubes each containing about 15 ml of deionized water 50 ml bottle of 0.5 M Hydrochloric Acid Test-tube Rack 6 paper labels Matches Hot Water Bath

Method 1. Place each of the metals in turn in a clean test-tube containing water and labelled with the symbol of the metal added. 2. If bubbles of a gas are evolved, test the gas with a lighted match. If there is a slight explosion or "pop", Hydrogen has been displaced from the water. Note: Hydrogen gas is explosive, so do not carry out the reaction near a naked flame. 3. Tip the water off the unreacted metals. Cover each metal with dilute (0.5M) Hydrochloric Acid. Note any reactions. 4. Place the test-tubes containing metals that did not react with the cold acid into a hot water bath to heat the acid and see if this makes the metal react with the acid. Results] Place your results in a table Discussion 1. Write chemical equations for any reaction which occurred. 2. List all sources of error

Conclusion List the metals in order of reactivity from the most reactive to the least.