fill in the blank 1). metal that are alone_________ is the series can displace it from water.
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Explanation:
The reactivity series is a series of metals, in order of reactivity from highest to lowest. It is used to determine the products of single displacement reactions, whereby metal A will replace another metal B in a solution if A is higher in the series. Activity series of some of the more common metals, listed in descending order of reactivity.
KK+reacts with waterNaNa+reacts with waterLiLi+reacts with waterBaBa2+reacts with waterSrSr2+reacts with waterCaCa2+reacts with waterMgMg2+reacts with acidsAlAl3+reacts with acidsMnMn2+reacts with acidsZnZn2+reacts with acidsCrCr2+reacts with acidsFeFe2+reacts with acidsCdCd2+reacts with acidsCoCo2+reacts with acidsNiNi2+reacts with acidsSnSn2+reacts with acidsPbPb2+reacts with acidsH2H+included for comparisonSbSb2+highly unreactiveBiBi2+highly unreactiveCuCu2+highly unreactiveHgHg2+highly unreactiveAgAg+highly unreactiveAuAu3+highly unreactivePtPt+highly unreactive
When a metal in elemental form is placed in a solution of another metal salt it may be more energetically feasible for this "elemental metal" to exist as an ion and the "ionic metal" to exist as the element. Therefore the elemental metal will "displace" the ionic metal and the two swap places.
Only a metal higher in the reactivity series will displace another.
A metal can displace metal ions listed below it in the activity series, but not above. For example, zinc is more active than copper and is able to displace copper ions from solution
Zn(s)+Cu2+(aq)→Zn2+(aq)+Cu(s)(P3.1)(P3.1)Zn(s)+Cu2+(aq)→Zn2+(aq)+Cu(s)
However, silver cannot displace copper ions from solution. It is important to distinguish between the displacement of hydrogen from an acid and hydrogen from water. Sodium is highly active and is able to displace hydrogen from water:
2Na(s)+2H2O(l)→2NaOH(aq)+H2(g)(P3.2)(P3.2)2Na(s)+2H2O(l)→2NaOH(aq)+H2(g)
Less active metals like iron or zinc cannot displace hydrogen from water but do readily react with acids:
Zn(s)+H2SO4(aq)→ZnSO4(aq)+H2(g)(P3.3)(P3.3)Zn(s)+H2SO4(aq)→ZnSO4(aq)+H2(g)
Those metals that can displace H+ ions from acids are easily recognized by their position above H in the activity series. The boundary between the metals that react with water and those that don't is harder to spot. For example, calcium is quite reactive with water, whereas magnesium does not react with cold water but does displace hydrogen from steam. A more sophisticated calculation involving electrode potentials is required to make accurate predictions in this area.
Origin
The reactivity of metals is due to the difference in stability of their electron configurations as atoms and as ions. As they are all metals they will form positive ions when they react.
Potassium has a single outer shell electron to lose to obtain a stable "Noble gas" electron configuration; the precious metals which exist in the d-block cannot form structures which are much more stable than their elemental state with the loss of just a few electrons. Metals that require the loss of only one electron to form stable ions are more reactive than similar metals which require the loss of more than one electron. Group 1A metals are the most reactive for that reason.
Metals with a greater total number of electrons tend to be more reactive as their outermost electrons (the ones which will be lost) exist further from the positive nucleus and therefore they are held less strongly.
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P2: Standard Reduction Potentials by Value
P4: Polarographic Half-Wave Potentials
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