Reactivity of Metals

The reactivity series is a list of metals arranged in order of their ability to displace other metals from their compounds. In such experiments more

reactive metals will displace less reactive metals from their salt solutions. For example,

• Zinc is more reactive than Copper, so Zinc will displace Copper from Copper Sulphate solution.

• Iron is more reactive than Copper, so Iron will displace Copper from Iron Sulphate.

This worksheet will help you learn how the reactivity of different metals can be tested through simple displacement reactions. By observing the

changes in the test tubes, you will get a better understanding of how metals interact with salts!

Aim: To observe (a) the action of Zn, Fe, Cu and Al metals on the following salt solutions: (i) ZnSO4 (aq.) (ii) FeSO4 (aq.) (iii) CuSO4 (aq.) (iv) Al2(SO4)3 (aq.) (b) Arrange Zn, Fe, Cu and Al metals in the decreasing order of reactivity based on the above result. 

Materials required: Test tubes, Test tube stand, Zinc, Iron, Copper and Aluminium metals, Sand paper, ZnSO4, FeSO4, CuSO4 and Al2(SO4)3 solutions.

Observation Table:

Metal	Salt solution to which added	Colour change of solutions	Change in appearance of metals	Inference
Aluminium	ZnSO4
	FeSO4
	CuSO4
Copper	Al2(SO4)3
	ZnSO4
	FeSO4
Zinc	Al2(SO4)3
	FeSO4
	CuSO4
Iron	Al2(SO4)3
	ZnSO4
	CuSO4

Conclusion:

From your observations, write down the trend in reactivity for each metal in the given salt solutions.

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What can you conclude about the reactivity series of metals based on your experiment?

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Let’s check your Knowledge 

1. Which metal reacts with Copper Sulphate (CuSO₄) solution? What is the observation?

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2. What happens when Copper metal is placed in Iron Sulphate (FeSO₄) solution?

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3. Did any of the metals show a change when placed in Zinc Sulphate (ZnSO₄) solution? What was observed?

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4. What happened when Aluminium metal was placed in Aluminium Sulphate (Al₂(SO₄)₃) solution?

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5. Based on your observations, which metal is the most reactive?

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6. Which metal does not react with its own salt solution (for example, Copper does not react with Copper Sulphate)? Why do you think

this happens?

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7. Why do some metals displace others in salt solutions?

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