Dr.

Cherry IIP International School Chemistry

Unit 5
Reactivity
Unit 5.1 Reactivity and displacement reactions

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Vocabulary (key words) for Unit 5.1

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Reactivity and displacement reactions
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Mnemonic to remember reactivity series

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Group 1 metals

Group 2 metals

Group 3 metal

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metal + oxygen → metal oxide

Eg. iron + oxygen → iron oxide
sodium + oxygen → sodium oxide
zinc + oxygen → zinc oxide
metal + water → metal hydroxide + hydrogen
Eg. potassium + water → potassium hydroxide + hydrogen
calcium + water → calcium hydroxide + hydrogen

metal + steam → metal oxide + hydrogen

Eg. aluminium + steam → aluminium oxide + hydrogen
iron + steam → iron oxide + hydrogen
metal + acid → salt + hydrogen
potassium + hydrochloric acid → potassium chloride + hydrogen
magnesium + sulfuric acid → magnesium sulfate + hydrogen
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Answers
1 (a) Lithium should be placed below sodium and above
calcium.
(b) Lithium reacts with water more vigorously than calcium
but less vigorously than sodium.
2 (a) Platinum should be placed below gold. Credit a
plausible position, such as near gold.
(b) Platinum is very unreactive, it does not react with
oxygen at all (it does not tarnish).
(3) Metal B is the most reactive. You can tell because the
most bubbles are given off.
(4) zinc + sulfuric acid → zinc sulfate + hydrogen
(5) magnesium + oxygen → magnesium oxide

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Displacement Reaction

Displacement Reaction
A displacement reaction occurs when a
more reactive element (metal) displaces, or
pushes out, a less reactive element (metal) from
a compound (salt) that contains the less reactive
element (metal).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7swr8AX5JY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4BDT5Xxqqk

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epTsi9yuc2M

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Dr. Cherry IIP International School Chemistry

The iron nail has become coated with copper. Iron is more reactive than the copper that it
has ‘pushed out’ from the copper sulfate and has reacted to form iron sulfate. This ‘pushing
out’ is called displacement, so this type of reaction is called a displacement reaction.

➢ A more reactive metal can replace a less reactive one in a salt.

➢ If a copper nail was placed in a solution of iron sulfate there would be no reaction
because copper is less reactive than iron. Copper cannot displace the iron in the iron
sulfate.

Answers
(6) zinc
(7) yes
(8) magnesium
(9) no

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Dr. Cherry IIP International School Chemistry

(1) If there has been a change in the colour of the

solution or the metal, that would show that one
metal had displaced another.

(2) This will depend on what you have been able to

provide, but it is likely to be magnesium.

(3) This will depend on what you have been able to

provide, but it is likely to be copper.

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