Name: _________________
Lab Activity: Developing an Activity Series for Metals
Aluminum is above silver on the activity series. You would therefore expect
that a single displacement reaction occurs when aluminum is placed into a
solution of silver nitrate.
Al(s) + 3 AgNO3(aq)  3 Ag(s) + Al(NO3)3(aq)
Silver nitrate is soluble in water, so the silver and nitrate ions separate as the
compound dissolves, a process called _____________________. Therefore,
a silver nitrate solution is actually a mixture of silver ions, Ag+1, and nitrate
ions, NO3-1, in water. So, the reaction is really between ________________
and ____________________. The ____________________ just remain in
solution. However, a similar reaction does not occur if a strip of silver is
placed in a solution containing aluminum ions, Al3+. It seems that metal
ions, as well as metal elements, differ in their reactivity.
Question:
What is the trend of reactivity of metal ions?
Equipment:
 Goggles
 well plate
 magnesium, zinc, iron, tin, copper
 dropper bottles of the following solutions:
o magnesium ions
o zinc ions
o iron (II) ions
o tin (II) ions
o copper (II) ions
Procedure:
1. Place a small amount of magnesium metal in 4 wells and then place 45 drops of each solution in the separate wells containing magnesium.
Make sure to record which drops went into each well!!
2. Record any observations.
3. Repeat for the following metals and solutions.
4. Discard all waste in the bin at the front. (NOT DOWN THE SINK!)
Observations:
Table 1 Observation Table
Metal
Ion
Mg2+(aq)
Zn2+(aq)
Fe2+(aq)
Sn2+(aq)
Cu2+(aq)
Mg(s)
Zn(s)
Fe(s)
Sn(s)
Cu(s)
Analyze:
1. Answer the question posed at the beginning of this investigation. Support
your answer with evidence.
2. Compare the trends in reactivity of metals with trends in the reactivity of
ions.
3. Use your answer to question 2 and the activity series of metals to rank
these ions in order from least to most reactive: Ni2+(aq), Ba2+(aq),
Hg2+(aq). Justify your prediction.
4. Write a chemical equation for each single displacement reaction recorded
in your observation table.
5. Did you see bubbles produced during any of the reactions? From your
answers to question 4, you can see that gas is not a product in these
single displacement reactions. What would account for the presence of
bubbles?