Activity Series 1
Name ______________________________________________ Date _________ Period ______
Reactivity of Metals in Single Replacement Reactions
Purpose
After reading the lab, create your own purpose below:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Pre-Lab Discussion (Do not copy in your lab book)
Some metals are more reactive than others. In a single replacement reaction, the more active
metal will end up bonded with a nonmetal or polyatomic ion, while the less active metal will be
found as an elemental solid. The activity series (which includes metallic hydrogen) orders the
metals in terms of reactivity. This lab should show you how the activity series was determined
through experiment, and that some single replacement reactions do not occur.
Materials
Beakers (100 mL)
Pipets
Scoopula
Well Plate
Cu (s)
Mg (s)
Fe (s)
Zn (s)
3.0 M HCl
0.1 M Cu(NO3)2
0.1 M Mg(NO3)2
0.1 M Fe(NO3)3
0.1 M Zn(NO3)2
Procedure
1. Place the well plate on top of a paper towel and label the rows and columns from Table 1
on the paper towel. Leave the wells that are blacked out in Table 1 empty.
2. Using the scoopula, place a small amount (2-3 pieces) of Copper in the top row of the
well plate.
3. Repeat step 2 for Magnesium (1 strip of metal), Iron (1 microspatula), and Zinc (1 piece
of metal).
4. Using the pipet, add enough Cu(NO3)2 to cover the metals in column 1.
5. Repeat step 4 for the other solutions. Allow 2-3 minutes for signs of a chemical reaction
to appear and record observations in Table 1.
6. Using a new pipet, draw the liquid out of each well. Observe the solid left behind and
record any new observations in Table 1. Squeeze the pipet out into the sink and repeat
for the remaining wells.
Activity Series 2
Data
Table 1 – Reaction Observations
Cu(NO3)2
Mg(NO3)2
Fe(NO3)3
Zn(NO3)2
HCl
Cu
Mg
Fe
Zn
Questions
1. Using examples, describe the signs of chemical
reactions you observed in the lab.
2. Which of the metals reacted with the most compounds?
Which reacted with the fewest?
3. Which of the metals you tested were able to replace the
hydrogen in a reaction with hydrochloric acid? What do
you think is a product of the reactions that occurred?
4. Based on your observations, why is copper used to
make jewelry?
5. Write balanced equations for all of the reactions you
determined had occurred in lab. (Note: Use Fe3+ for iron
ions and Cu2+ for copper ions)
Conclusion
Using your data, create and justify an activity series (most
reactive to least reactive) for the metals you tested. Include
hydrogen in your list. Compare your activity series to the one
to the right. Are they similar? Explain.
Activity Series of Metals
Li
K
Ba
Sr
Ca
Na
Mg
Al
Mn
Zn
Cr
Fe
Ni
Sn
Pb
H2
Cu
Hg
Ag
Pt
Au