The Reactivity Series

Reactivity Series of Metals

  • Overview: The reactivity series ranks metals by their reactivity with other substances.

    • Most Reactive: Potassium > Sodium > Calcium > Magnesium > Aluminium

    • Intermediate Reactivity: Zinc > Iron > Tin > Lead

    • Least Reactive: Copper > Silver > Gold > Platinum

  • General Rules:

    • Metals at the top are more reactive and can displace metals below them in reactions.

    • Hydrogen: Non-metal indicating metals below it (Cu, Ag, Au) do not react with acids or water.

    • Metals above Carbon in the series cannot be extracted from ores using carbon.

  • Extraction:

    • Most reactive metals obtained via electrolysis.

    • Intermediate metals can be extracted using carbon in a blast furnace (e.g., Iron).

  • Special Notes:

    • Copper, Mercury, Silver, and Gold are found in their native state due to low reactivity.

    • More reactive metals can displace less reactive metals from their solutions.

Reactivity of Halogens

  • Reactivity Order:

    • Fluorine > Chlorine > Bromine > Iodine > Astatine

  • More reactive halogens can displace less reactive halides in solution.

Classwork & Research Topics

  • Explain aluminum extraction via electrolysis with diagrams.

  • Describe iron production stages in a blast furnace with balanced equations.

  • Research specific reactions (e.g., iron(III) oxide and carbon) to determine reactiveness with balanced equations and reasons.