Metal Activity Series Lab

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Metal Activity Series Lab Introduction: Single displacement reactions take place when a chemical reaction occurs between an element and a compound, to in turn create a new element and a new compound. This type of chemical reaction can be seen through the equation: A + BC= AC + B as well as shown through figure 1 below. In single displacement reactions, a metal will usually replace a metal while a non-metal will replace a non-metal, as seen in figure 2 below. However, whether or not one element is replaced by another element depends on how reactive each element is. Over the years, scientists have gathered evidence through single displacement reactions to test the reactivity of many metals and non-metals, and have generated a list of these elements in order of most reactive to least reactive. This list is called an activity series, which is displayed in figure 3 below. In order for one to recognize if an element has been replaced with another element, a chemical change must occur. Evidence of a chemical reaction falls into four categories: change in color, change in odour, formation of gas or solid and the release or absorption of heat. A circumstance without any of the evidences present concludes that a chemical reaction has not occurred and thus a displacement reaction has not taken place. Figure 1 Figure 1 chlorine + sodium iodide iodine + sodium chloride (non-metal) (compound) (non-metal) (compound) Cl2 + 2 NaI I2 + 2 NaCl Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 3 (Source of Figure 3: http://vinstan.wikispaces.com/Chapter+3+++++Chemical+Reactions) Purpose: The main objective of Activity Series of Metals is to determine the reactivity of common metals. For this lab we should be able to find out and predict the products that come from a

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