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Aims:
• To observe the reactions of several metals with water and acids.
• To prepare an activity series of the metals based on the observations from the
above reactions.
Apparatus:
Spatula, test tubes, 150 ml beaker
Materials:
Magnesium ribbon, Phenolphthalein indicator, 6M HCL, granular Aluminium, powdered
Carbon, Iron, Copper, Zinc, 6M HNO3 .
Procedure:
A. The Group 2A Elements: Alkaline Earth Metals-Magnesium and Calcium
Two 0.25 samples of granular aluminium are placed one, in a test tube containing water
and another in a 150 ml beaker containing 5 ml of 6M HCL. The observations are
recorded.
Two 0.25 samples of powdered carbon are placed, one in a test tube containing water and
another in a 150 ml beaker containing 5 ml of 6M HCL and the bottom of each tube is
tapped gently once and another time after 5 minutes. The observations are recorded.
1. Each metal: iron (steel wool), copper and zinc are placed separately in a test tube
filled with water and tapped. The observations are recorded.
2. The above is repeated with 2 ml of 6M HCL and a sample of each metal. The
observations are recorded.
3. The experiment is repeated a third time with 2 ml of 6M HNO3 and a sample of
each metal. The observations are recorded.
Results:
A. Group 2A Elements
Discussion:
Part A:
Metal + Water gives salt (metal oxide) and Hydrogen. When the Magnesium is
reacted with the water it gives of Magnesium Oxide and bubbles of gas can be observed
which when exposed to a lighted splint produce a popping sound. This indicates the gas is
Hydrogen. The same stands true with Calcium which means the experiment supports the
theory and there where no impurities involved. Therefore this particular section of the
experiment was successful.
Metal + Acid gives salt and Hydrogen. When the Magnesium is reacted with the HCL
a reaction is observed and bubbles of gas are formed. Its exothermic and supports theory.
The gas though didn't burn with a pop when exposed to flame. This could be for certain
reasons. There could have been some contamination due to unclean equipment or the gas
escaped due to the vigorous reaction and not enough gas was collected. The same holds
true for the Calcium.
Part B:
Normally metal with water produces base and Hydrogen. In this case a transition
element is involved and as aluminium is very reactive it oxidized in air and forms a
galvanised layer. When Aluminium is added to water no reaction is visible.
The second procedure proves theory as bubbles of gas are visible indicating that a
reaction is taking place. This means Aluminium + Acid gives salt and Hydrogen.
Part C:
When Carbon is placed in water no reaction is visible. This is because Carbon is less
reactive than most elements and so theory holds true and the carbon doesn't react.
The same happens when carbon is added to acid.
Part D.
When the metals are added to water no reaction is visible that is because both
Magnesium and Zinc are too reactive and have reacted with the oxygen in the air to form
a protective oxide shell.
A reaction takes place though when the metals are added to HCL acid. Iron reacts
and bubbles can be seen to indicate gas given off. The gas exposed to a naked flame
burns with a popping sound indicating that it is Hydrogen. This satisfies the equation
Metal + Acid gives Salt + Hydrogen.
No reaction takes place between the HCL and the Copper as Copper is a very non
reactive element. This places Copper below the Iron in the reactivity series.
The reaction with HCL and Zinc is similar to the one with Iron except the reaction is
more vigorous and the heat given off is even more. There is no popping sound when the
gas collected is exposed to a flame. This could be a systematic error; not enough gas
collected as the reaction was to fast.
When the Iron is added to the Nitric acid it is a violent reaction and the acid turns
yellow. Gas is given off so the experiment here supports the theory.
Copper is added to Nitric acid, a reaction is visible and brown gas is given off. It
supports theory as a salt and Nitrogen Mono Oxide gas is given off.
Zinc with Nitric acid reacts vigorously and gives off a lot of heat meaning its an
exothermic reaction. The acid turns a dark yellow.
Conclusion:
Part A:
The results obtained must help to determine which element is more reactive by comparing the
energy released during the reaction. When acid was used the calcium showed a slightly more
violent reaction, this indicates that calcium is more reactive than magnesium.
Part B:
Aluminum produced no reaction with water and reacted with the acid to form aluminum
chloride. This result is compared to the results of the previous experiment. Both group 2
elements magnesium and calcium are more reactive than aluminum so aluminum is under both
elements in the series.
Part C:
This experiment shouldn’t be used to determine properties and the reactivity of carbon as
carbon is a non metal and will not produce ionic substances with acid and water. However CO2
or CO may be tested to see if they are able to displace hydrogen from water, thus giving us a
clue on hydrogen’s reactivity.
Part D:
In this experiment the three transition elements were reacted with water and two acids (HCl
& HNO3 ). In the first part all three wouldn’t react with the water. In the second part, iron
chloride and bubbles of hydrogen gas were formed in a reaction that released a small amount of
energy which kept the test tube warm. Copper did not react with the hydrochloric acid. The
zinc produced the most violent reactions of three transition elements and released a large
amount of energy. When all three were placed in the nitric acid, the zinc again produced the
most vigorous reaction. Copper reacted with acid to form a blue substance ( copper (2) nitrate)
and a brown gas (nitrogen dioxide) in a non violent reaction. The iron reacted violently with the
acid to produce a yellow solution of iron chloride. All three produced bubbles of hydrogen gas.
So zinc is the most reactive of the three transitions elements followed by iron then copper which
is the least reactive.
Based on these results we can now construct a list containing all the elements and place them
in descending order from most reactive to least reactive.