The Reactivity of A Metal and
When it Was Discovered
Alia Al-Khater
Introduction
Although most metals are usually electropositive in
nature and lose electrons in a chemical reaction
they do not react with the same vigor or speed.
Metals display different reactions towards
different substances. The greater the ease with
which an element loses its electrons and acquires
a positive charge, the greater is its reactivity.
Further, the greater the number of shells and
lesser the number of valence electrons, the
greater is the reactivity of the metal.
Reactivity Series of Metals
Discovery of Metal
Currently there are 86 known metals. Before the
19th century only 24 of these metals had been
discovered and of these 24 metals, 12 were
discovered in the 18th century. Therefore, from
the discovery of the first metals - gold and copper
until the end of the 17th century, some 7700
years, only 12 metals were known.
The 12 Metals
- Gold
- Silver
- Copper
- Lead
- Mercury
- Iron
- Tin
- Platinum
- Antimony
- Bismuth
- Zinc
- Arsenic
Timeline of the Discovery of Different
Metals
First Discovery of Metal
• The first metal that was discovered was Gold
and it has been used since 6000 BC.
• Gold is effectively placed at the bottom of the
reactivity series.
• Gold has many special properties.
• The properties and the facts about gold in the
next slide will explain why gold is at the
bottom of the reactivity series.
Gold
- Gold is Recyclable: Gold is almost indestructible
which implies that it is immune to physical
destruction of any kind and can be recycled and
used as many times by the owner.
- Gold is Soft: Gold considered easy to work with
because it is relatively soft compared to other
metals. Where hardness is desired, gold is mixed
with other metals to form alloys. Gold is ductile and
malleable due to which it can be relatively easily
drawn into thin and long wires and can also be
formed into sheets which are so thin that they allow
the passage of light.
Gold (Continued)
- Conductivity of Gold: Gold is one of the best
conductors of electricity. Because of that the fact
about gold is that it has many industrial uses. Gold
is especially used where high conductivity and
resistance to corrosion is needed, such as in mission
critical electronic circuits. Among the industrial
applications are in computer chip connectors, and
circuits of motor vehicles, satellites and aircraft.
- Gold is Highly Reflective: Since this metal
completely reflects infrared rays, it is used widely
for radiation reflection and is a good conductor of
thermal energy.
Second Discovery of Metal
• Copper was the second metal that was
discovered and it has been used since 4200 BC.
• The first metallic tools and weapons were
made from copper.
• Copper is mainly used in tubing, pipes, wires,
sheets, cookware, cutlery, electromagnets and
components of coins.
• Copper is placed at the bottom block of the
reactivity series.
Metals of Antiquity
• What are they?
- Metals of antiquity refers to the seven
metals which humankind had identified
and found use for in prehistoric times.
These seven metals, gold, copper, silver,
lead tin, iron, and mercury, are the seven
metals upon which modern civilization.
Metals of Antiquity (Continued)
• Of these seven metals, five can be found in
their native states (gold, silver, copper, iron,
and mercury). The other two, tin and lead,
must be smelted from ore; however, both
smelt at low enough temperatures that a
simple campfire is sufficiently hot to do so, at
least with the ores that were available in
ancient times.
Metals of Antiquity (Continued Part 2)
• The seven metals of antiquity are all
found in the lower level of the
reactivity series except for iron which
is in the middle level of the reactivity
series.
18th Century
- The next 12 metals
that were discovered
are:
• Cobalt (1735)
• Nickel (1751)
• Manganese (1774)
• Molybdenum (1781)
• Tellurium (1782)
• Tungsten (1783)
•
•
•
•
•
Zirconium (1789)
Titanium (1791)
Yttrium (1794)
Beryllium (1797)
Chromium (1797)
18th Century (Continued)
• Theses 12 metals all appear at an
appropriate area in the reactivity series,
mainly around the middle level.
• Research has shown that the lower the
reactivity of the metal, the earlier it was
discover.
19th Century
• In the 19th century 41 metals were discovered.
• These 41 metals include metals which are
shown at the top of the reactivity series.
• The metals that are shown at the top of the
reactivity series are Potassium, Calcium,
Sodium, Aluminum and Magnesium (5 of the
metals that are highly reactive).
Conclusion
• After reading all of this you should now
understand that a metal that was reactive was
bound to occur in a compound state. This
would have made it harder for man to extract
the metal from its ore. If the metal was highly
reactive it would even become a harder
challenge. But over the years scientists have
came up with a solution using tools to make
extracting a highly reactive metal from its ore
easy.
Bibliography
1) "Reactivity Series." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.
Web. 10 Nov. 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactivity_series.
2) "History of Metals." Department of Materials Science
& Engineering. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.
<http://neon.mems.cmu.edu/cramb/Processing/histor
y.html>.
3) "The Reactivity Series Of Metals, Metals And Nonmetals, Science Help | Tutorvista.com." Tutorvista.com
- Online Tutoring, Homework Help for Math, Science,
English from Best Online Tutor. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.
http://www.tutorvista.com/content/science/science-
Bibliography (Continued)
4) "Histiry of Metals." METAL WEB NEWS. Web.
10 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.metalwebnews.com/metalshistory.html>.
5) "Metals Timeline." Www.ic.arizona.edu. Web.
10 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/mse257/class_
notes/metals_timeline.html>.