10.

4 General chemical properties of metals

 The chemistry of metals is studied by analysing their reactions with

water, dilute acid and oxygen
 Based on these reactions, a reactivity series of metals can be

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Reactivity with water

 Some metals react with water, either warm or cold, or with steam
 Metals that react with cold water form a metal hydroxide and

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hydrogen gas, for example calcium:

Ca + 2H2O → Ca(OH)2 + H2

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 Metals that react with steam form metal oxide and hydrogen gas, for
example zinc:
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Zn + H2O → ZnO + H2
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Magnesium shows a similar reaction with steam as zinc

Reactivity with acids

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 Most metals react with dilute acids such as HCl

 When acids and metals react, the hydrogen atom in the acid is
replaced by the metal atom to produce a salt and hydrogen gas, for
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example iron:

Fe + 2HCI → FeCl2 + H2
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Reactivity with oxygen

 Unreactive metals such as gold and copper do not react with acids
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 Some reactive metals such as the alkali metals react with oxygen
 Copper and iron can also react with oxygen although much more
slowly
 When metals react with oxygen a metal oxide is formed, for example
copper:
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2Cu + O2 → 2CuO
The Reactivity Series

 The chemistry of the metals is studied by analysing their reactions

with water, dilute acid and oxygen
 Based on these reactions a reactivity series of metals can be

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produced
 The series can be used to place a group of metals in order of

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reactivity based on the observations of their reactions with water,
acid and oxygen

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Reactions with Aqueous Ions & Oxides

 The reactivity of metals increases going up the reactivity series

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 This means that a more reactive metal can displace a less reactive
metal from its oxide by heating
Example: Copper(II) Oxide

 It is possible to reduce copper(II) oxide by heating it with magnesium

 As magnesium is above copper in the reactivity series, magnesium is
more reactive so can displace copper

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 The reducing agent in the reaction is magnesium:

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CuO (s) + Mg (s) → Cu (s) + MgO (s)

Net Ionic equation: Cu2(s) + Mg(s) → Cu (s) + Mg2+(s)

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Other common reactions

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Displacement reactions between metals and aqueous solutions of

metal salts
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 Any metal will displace another metal that is below it in the

reactivity series from a solution of one of its salts
This is because more reactive metals lose electrons and form ions
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
more readily than less reactive metals, making them better reducing
agents
 The less reactive metal is a better electron acceptor than the more
reactive metal, thus the less reactive metal is reduced. (OIL-RIG:
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reduction is gain of electrons)

Example: Zinc and copper(II) sulfate

 As Zinc is above copper in the reactivity series, zinc is more reactive

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so can displace copper from copper(II) sulfate solution:

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Zn (s) + CuSO4 (aq) → ZnSO4 (aq) + Cu (s)

Net Ionic equation: Zn(s) + Cu2+ (aq) → Cu (s) + Zn2+(aq)

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Other Common Reactions

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10.5 Uses of the reactivity series of metals

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 10.6

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10.7 Extrat ion of Iron

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10.8 RUSTING AND ITS PREVENTION

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