REACTIVITY SERIES
Mrs Devlin has just moved house and wants to put a house number on
the front door for the postman to see clearly. She would like the
number to be made of a nice shiny metal but the area is well known for
acid rain pollution. She is afraid that the number might not last. Can you
help her to find the best metal to use.
She has the choice of these metals:
1.
Zinc
2.
Iron
3.
Magnesium
4.
Copper
Page 1
What do I want to find out?
not react
Which metal reacts ____________
most slowly
____________ with acid?
Does any metal ____________
____________ with acid at all?
Prediction
I predict that ____________ will react most quickly.
I predict that ____________ will react most slowly.
I predict that ____________ will not react at all.
Plan
I will change the ____________ of metal.
I will count the ____________ of
____________ produced in one minute.
volume
type
room
size bubbles
number
To make this a fair test I will:
1.
Keep the same ____________ of acid.
2.
Keep the same ____________ of testtube.
3.
Keep the same ____________ of metal piece.
4.
Keep all testtubes at ____________ temperature (20ºC)
Page 2
Safety
To keep safe I will:
1.
be careful using a _ _ _ solutions as they can b_ _ _ my skin.
2.
be careful using s_ _ _ _ _ _ so I do not cut myself.
3.
wash the desk carefully after completing the experiment so no
acid can b _ _ _ another student.
Page 3
Apparatus and Diagram
Complete the diagram by labeling all testtubes and other apparatus
needed.
t___ t___ r___
1. testtube
10cm3 acid
1cm strip
of ______
metal
s___
b _ _ _ _ _ _ of g _ _
2.
3.
w____
4.
r____
If needed?
4 x 10cm m _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
c_______
3
s_______
My results will look like this:
test tube rack
measuring
cylinder
scissors
ruler
stop watch
bubbles of gas
Page 4
Metal
Rate of Bubbles of Hydrogen Produced in 1 minute
1
2
Magnesium
Copper
Zinc
Iron
What I will do:
bubbles
metal
measuring
cylinder
zinc
copper
stop watch
testtubes
number
iron
1.
Set up apparatus as shown in the diagram.
2.
Measure out 4 x 10 cm3 of acid using 10cm3 m____________
c____________.
3.
Put acid in t______ t______.
4.
Label test tubes 1 to 4.
5.
Cut 1cm2 of each m_______ (iron, magnesium, copper and zinc)
from equal size strips.
6.
Add the metals to the test tubes at the same time and compare
the rates at which the b________ of hydrogen are produced.
Page 5
7.
Repeat steps 2 to 6 for accuracy.
Page 6
Conclusion
1.
I can put the metals in order according to how quickly the react
with acid.
Most reactive
____________
____________
____________
Least reactive
2.
____________
I predicted that:
____________ would react most quickly
____________ would react most slowly
____________ would not react at all
3.
My predictions were / were not correct.
Page 7
Evaluation
1.
Did I change any part of my plan?
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
2.
Did my results agree with the others in my class?
________________________________________________
3.
I would advise Mrs Devlin to choose __________ metal to have
her house number made from as _______________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
4.
I enjoyed carrying out this experiment because ____________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Page 8
REACTIVITY SERIES
Teachers notes
Suggest using sulphuric acid (0.5M/1.0M)
Strips of metal to be cleaned beforehand.
Use equal lengths of each metal.
Page 9