Johana Guatemala

Bonnie May
September 10, 2014
Periodic Trends in Reactivity.
Purpose:
To explore the reactivity trends of metals in groups and periods of the periodic table.
Pre-lab Questions:
1. What are groups? What are periods? What are families?
The groups of the periodic table are the vertical columns. The periods of the periodic
table are the horizontal rows. The families of the periodic table that share the most elemental
characteristics.
2. In general, where are metals located on the periodic table?
All metals are located to the left of the metalloid boundary on the periodic table.
3. What are the names of two metal families?
The names of two metal families located on the periodic table are Alkali and Alkaline
Earth metals.
4. What element is in Group 3 and in the 3rd period?
Gallium is located in the 3rd group and period on the periodic table.
Procedures for Part 1:
1. acquire a test tube rack
2. acquire two clean test tubes
3. label test tubes
4. fill a beaker with tap water and grab a disposable pipette (do not fill beaker)
5. bring your test tubes to Charlene to get sample of magnesium and calcium
6. use pipette to cover sample with water
7. observe reaction carefully and enter data in data table
8. dump sample into hand over the sink, rinse sample, and place magnesium into
corresponding beaker. Wash test tubes and return to lab station
Data Table for Part 1:
Metals Observations with water
Magnesium - Nothing
- tiny bubbles rising in water
- more Nothing
Calcium - water turns a cloudy/milky color
- calcium powder dissolves
- nothing else

Procedures Part 2:
1. acquire one more clean test tube
2. re-label test tubes
3. one person go to Charlene for acid named HCL (CAUTION: bottle warm and droppers
dont properly fit)
4. re-use magnesium from part 1 and acquire a sample of Zinc and Tin from Charlene
5. cover sample with dilute HCL (add drop by drop)
6. observe reaction and fill in data table
7. bring samples to fume hood and pour the into designated waste bottle
Data Table for Part 2:

Metals Observations with HCL
Magnesium - silver rectangle shape
- feels like foil
- foams
- bubbles and steam
- looks like condensation
- magnesium is practically gone
- test tube heats up
- acid looks clear
Zinc - looks like a wadded piece of gum
- feels like a jagged rock
- rapidly bubbles
- acid looks cloudy
- smoke puffs out of tube
- smokes is similar to erupting volcano
or geyser
- sample is still in tact when reaction
slows down
Tin - looks like aluminum foil
- feels very hard
- seemed to be no reaction

Post-lab Questions:
1. What might be a reason for the difference in behavior between magnesium and calcium
when placed in water? (Hint: lithium, sodium, and potassium are also progressively more
reactive)
A possible reason behind why Magnesium and Calcium behaved differently when placed
in water because Calcium was dehydrated and Magnesium was in a solid form.
2. List the four metals from most reactive to least reactive. Use data from your lab to
support your answer.
The order of the most reactive metals to the least reactive metals goes Zinc, Magnesium,
Calcium and Tin because of what I found in my data tables.
3. In general, is there a relationship between the locations of metals on the Periodic Table
and their relative activity? Explain why.
Generally, most of the metals closer to the top left have a higher reactivity than those to
the bottom right because most of the elements on the right have more electrons than the left.
4. Silicon (Si), tin (Sn), and lead (Pb) are all in the same group. The density of tin is about
7.28 g/cm3 and the density of Pb is 11.34 g/cm3. Based on this trend, what do you
estimate the density of silicon to be?
I estimate the density of Silicon has a density of 3.14 g/cm3.
5. When elements are organized in the periodic table, various trends appear. Describe some
of the trends that you learned about from this lab.
Some trends I have learned from these labs are from left to right metals get more reactive
from top to bottom metals get less reactive.
6. What can you conclude about the reactivity of metals as you move down a column or
group in the periodic table?
I can conclude that elements placed higher in a column are more reactive.
7. What can you conclude about the reactivity of metals as you move across a period?
I can conclude that elements placed more to the left in a period are more reactive.
8. Arrange each set of the following metals in order from least to most reactive using
conclusions you just made.
Metals Order of Reactivity (Most to Least)
Fr, Na, Cs Na, Cs, Fr
Rb, Ga, Fr Rb, Fr, Ga

9. Which is the most reactive metal in the periodic table? Explain. Would you expect this
metal to be found in its unreacted elemental form? Explain.
Lithium is the most reactive metal in the periodic table because besides Hydrogen it is the
most top left element. I would not expect to find Lithium to be found unreacted because it only
has one valence electron.
10. The following is a reactivity chart found on the internet.

Do your results and conclusion agree with the information found on this chart?
My results and conclusion agrees with this chart except for Lithium but the HCL was diluted.
Conclusion:
After completing this laboratory experiment, I learned the periodic table has many trends relating
to how elements react with different substances.