Ordering metals by reactivity, how metals react with water and acid, and why some metals are extracted with carbon while others need electrolysis.
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1.What does the reactivity series show?
Metals listed in order of how readily they react, most reactive at the top.
2.State the reactivity series from most to least reactive.
Potassium, sodium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, carbon, zinc, iron, hydrogen, copper, silver, gold.
3.Why are carbon and hydrogen included in the reactivity series?
They are non-metals, but comparing metals against them shows which extraction method and which reactions are possible.
4.What determines how reactive a metal is?
How readily it loses electrons to form a positive ion. The more easily it does so, the more reactive it is.
5.What is produced when a metal reacts with water?
A metal hydroxide and hydrogen gas.
6.Which metals react with cold water?
Potassium, sodium, lithium and calcium.
7.Describe what happens when potassium is added to water.
It reacts violently, melts, moves rapidly across the surface, and the hydrogen produced ignites with a lilac flame.
8.What is produced when a metal reacts with dilute acid?
A salt and hydrogen gas.
9.Which metals do not react with dilute acid?
Those below hydrogen in the series: copper, silver and gold.
10.How can you compare the reactivity of metals using acid?
Add the same size piece of each metal to the same acid and observe how vigorously it fizzes, or measure the rate of hydrogen production.
11.What is an ore?
A rock that contains enough of a metal or metal compound to make extracting it worthwhile.
12.Why are most metals found as compounds rather than pure?
They are reactive enough to have combined with other elements, usually oxygen, over geological time.
13.Which metals are found in the Earth as the pure metal?
Very unreactive ones such as gold, because they do not readily react with other elements.
14.Which metals can be extracted by reduction with carbon?
Those below carbon in the reactivity series, such as zinc, iron and copper.
15.Why can carbon extract these metals?
Carbon is more reactive than they are, so it takes the oxygen from the metal oxide.
16.How must metals above carbon be extracted?
By electrolysis of the molten compound.
17.Why is electrolysis needed for the more reactive metals?
Carbon is not reactive enough to remove the oxygen from their compounds.
18.Why is extraction by electrolysis expensive?
It requires large amounts of electrical energy, and energy to melt the compound first.
19.Write the word equation for extracting iron from iron oxide with carbon.
iron oxide + carbon gives iron + carbon dioxide
20.In that reaction, which substance is reduced?
The iron oxide, because it loses oxygen.
21.In that reaction, which substance is oxidised?
The carbon, because it gains oxygen.
22.Why does gold not need extracting by a chemical reaction?
It is so unreactive that it occurs naturally as the element itself.
23.How does the position of a metal affect the stability of its compounds?
The more reactive the metal, the more stable its compounds and the harder they are to break down.
24.Why is aluminium expensive despite being common in the Earth?
It is above carbon in the reactivity series, so it can only be extracted by electrolysis, which uses a great deal of energy.
25.Two metals fizz in acid; one fizzes faster. What does that tell you?
The one fizzing faster is the more reactive of the two.
26.A metal does not react with water or dilute acid. Where is it in the series?
Below hydrogen, so it is one of the least reactive metals such as copper, silver or gold.
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