Metals & Non-metals

Chemical properties of Metals (Notes)

1. Reaction with oxygen:

 Almost all metals combine with oxygen to form metals oxides.
Metals + Oxygen Metal oxide
Copper does not react with oxygen even on strong heating. It
reacts very slowly on prolonged heating to form cupric oxide
(black oxide). Reaction is given as:
For eg:
2Cu + O2 2CuO
Copper Copper(II) oxide
Aluminium forms aluminium oxide
4Al + 3O2 2Al2O3
Aluminium Aluminium oxide

 CuO reacts with hydrochloric acid.

 Metal oxides are basic in nature. Some metal oxides, such as aluminium
oxide, zinc oxide, etc. which react with both acids as well as bases to
produce salts and water are known as amphoteric oxides.

For eg. Al2O3 + 6HCl 2AlCl3 + 3H2O

Aluminium chloride
Al2O3 + 2NaOH 2NaAlO2 + H2O
Sodium aluminate

 Sodium and potassium react with oxygen of air, burns with a golden yellow
colour and form sodium and potassium oxides, which dissolves with water
to form alkalis called sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. These
turn red litmus blue. Most metals oxides are insoluble in water.
For eg. Na2O(s) + H2O(l) 2NaOH(aq)
K2O(s) + H2O(l) → 2KOH(aq)

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  Some metals like Mg, Al, Zn, Pb react slowly with air and form a protective
layer.
2Zn(s) + O2(g) → 2ZnO
 Mg can also burn in air with a white dazzling light to form its oxide
2Mg + O2 2MgO
 Fe and Cu don't burn in air but combine with oxygen to form oxide. When
heated iron filings burn when sprinkled over flame.
 Metals like silver, platinum and gold don't burn or react with air.
 Metals such as potassium and sodium react so vigorously with oxygen that
they catch fire if kept in the open. So to protect them they are kept
immersed in kerosene oil.
4Na + O2 → 2Na2O
4K + O2 → 2K2O

The order of reactivity of these metals towards oxygen is as follows:

Na > K > Mg > Zn > Fe > Cu
At ordinary temperature, the surface of metals like magnesium (Mg), Aluminium
(Al), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), lead (Pb) etc. are covered with a thin layer of oxide. The
protective oxide layer prevents the metals from further oxidation. Silver and gold
does not react with oxygen due to this silver and gold are called noble metals.

Anodising; Process of forming a thick oxide layer of aluminium that makes it

resistant to further corrosion.
Anodising is a process of forming a thick oxide layer of aluminium.
Aluminium develops a thin oxide layer when exposed to air. This aluminium
oxide coat makes it resistant to further corrosion. The resistance can be
improved further by making the oxide layer thicker.
During anodising, a clean aluminium article is made the anode and is
electrolysed with dilute sulphuric acid. The oxygen gas evolved at the anode
reacts with aluminium to make a thicker protective oxide layer. This oxide
layer can be dyed easily to give aluminium articles an attractive finish.

2. Reaction with water:

 Metal react with water and produce a metal oxides and hydrogen gas. Metal
oxides that are soluble in water dissolve in it to form metal hydroxide. But
all metals do not react with water.

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 Metal + Water Metal oxide + Hydrogen
Metal oxide + Water Metal hydroxide

To study metal reactivity with steam

A lump of wet glass wool is placed at the bottom of a boiling tube. Then place the
metals samples in the middle of a horizontally kept boiling tube one by one. Now
start at the bottom of a boiling tube with a help of burner. The water present in
glass wool forms steam on heating. This steam then pass over the metal. Observe
that aluminium react with steam and iron does not react under ordinary conditions
but it reacts only when steam is passed over hot iron. Copper do not react with
water either at ordinary temperature or at higher temperature. The following
reaction occur from the above activity.

 Metals like sodium & potassium react with cold water vigorously;
making a hissing sound. These reactions are exothermic and evolved
hydrogen gas which catches fire and leads to little explosion. metals like
magnesium react with hot water.
2K(s) + 2H2O(l) → 2KOH(aq) + H2(g) + heat energy
Potassium cold water Potassium hydroxide
2Na(s) + 2H2O(I) → 2NaOH(aq) + H2(g) + heat energy
Sodium cold water Sodium hydroxide

 Calcium react less violently and the piece of calcium starts floating in water
because the bubbles of hydrogen gas formed stick to the surface of the

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 metal. Now put the metals which do not react with cold water in beaker
which is half filled with hot water.
Ca(s) + 2H2O(l) → Ca(OH)2(aq) + H2(g)
Calcium hydroxide

 Magnesium reacts rapidly with hot water. It also starts floating due to the
bubbles of hydrogen sticking to its surfaces. [The rest samples of metals
which do not react with cold and hot water, are made to react with steam].
Mg + H2O → MgO + H2
Hot water Magnesium oxide

 Aluminium does not react either with cold or hot water. But it react only
with steam to form aluminium oxide and hydrogen gas.
2Al + 3H2O → Al2O3(s) + 3H2(g)
Steam Aluminium oxide

 Iron metal react when steam is passed over red hot iron and form iron oxide
and H2 gas.
3Fe (s) + 4H2O(g) → Fe3O4(s) + 4H2(g)
Iron (Red hot) Steam Iron (II, III) oxide
Note: As iron get oxidized with Iron (II) and Iron (III) oxide
FeO + Fe2O3 → Fe3O4

 Zinc react with steam to form zinc oxide and H2 gas.

Zn(s) + H2O(g) → ZnO(s) + H2
Steam Zinc oxide
Copper do not react with even under strong conditions. Similarly, gold and silver
also do not react with water. The above reactions indicates that sodium and
potassium are the most reactive metals while copper is least reactive.

The reactivity order of these metals with water are

K > Na > Ca > Mg > Al > Zn > Fe > Cu
Reactivity with water decreases.

3. Reaction with Dilute Acid:

 Most metals react with acids to give a salt and hydrogen

gas. Metal + Dilute acid Salt + Hydrogen

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  Hydrogen gas is not evolved when a metal reacts with nitric acid. It’s a
strong oxidizing agent and oxidizes hydrogen produced to water and
itself gets reduced to any of the nitrogen oxides (N2O, NO, NO2).
 N2O – Nitrous oxide
NO – Nitric oxide
NO2 – Nitrogen dioxide
Fe + 2HCl  FeCl2 + H2
Mg + 2HCl  MgCl2 + H2
Zn + 2HCl  ZnCl2 + H2
2Al + 6HCl  2AlCl3 + 3H2

But magnesium (Mg) and manganese (Mn) react with very dilute HNO3 to
evolve H2 gas.
Mg + 2HNO3  Mg(NO3)2 + H2

Activity
Collect all the metal samples except sodium and potassium again. If the samples are
tarnished, rub them clean with sand paper.
CAUTION: Do not take sodium and potassium as they react vigorously even with
cold water.
 Put the samples separately in test tubes containing dilute hydrochloric acid. „
Suspend thermometers in the test tubes, so that their bulbs are dipped in the
acid.
 Observe the rate of formation of bubbles carefully.
 Which metals reacted vigorously with dilute hydrochloric acid?
 With which metal did you record the highest temperature?
 Arrange the metals in the decreasing order of reactivity with dilute acids.
Observation:
The rate of formation of bubbles was the fastest in the case of magnesium. The
reaction was also the most exothermic in this case. The reactivity decreases in the
order Mg > Al > Zn > Fe.
In the case of copper, no bubbles were seen and the temperature also remained
unchanged. This shows that copper does not react with dilute HCl.

Aquaregia:
 Freshly prepared mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid and
concentrated nitric acid in the ration of 3:1

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 It is highly corrosive, fuming liquid and one of the few reagents able
to dissolve gold and platinum.

Metals react with solution of other metal salts

 A metal reacts with another metal and displaces them from their
solution. This is known as displacement reaction.

 In displacement reaction a more reactive metal displaces a less

reactive metal but a less reactive metal cannot displace a more
reactive metal.

 In beaker A Zn being more reactive than copper replaces copper from the
solution of copper sulphate and form zinc sulphate
Zn + CuSO4 → ZnSO4 + Cu
 In beaker B iron being more reactive than copper replaces it from its solution
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 and forms iron sulphate.
Fe + CuSO4 → FeSO4 + Cu
 In beaker C there would be no reaction as less reactive metal copper cannot
displaces more reactive metal zinc from its solution.
 In beaker D there would be no reaction as less reactive metal copper cannot
displaces more reactive metal iron from its solution.
 In beaker E there would be no reaction as less reactive metal iron cannot
displaces more reactive metal zinc from its solution.
Activity
 Take a clean wire of copper and an iron nail.
 Put the copper wire in a solution of iron sulphate and the iron nail in a
solution of copper sulphate taken in test tubes
Record your observations after 20 minutes.

 The blue colour copper sulphate solution fades gradually and red brown
copper metal is formed:
Fe (s) + CuSO4(aq) → FeSO4 (aq) + Cu (s)
Iron Copper ll sulphate Iron ll sulpate Copper
(grey) (Blue colour) Greenish solution Red brown
 In this reaction, iron is displacing copper from copper sulphate solution
because iron is more reactive than copper.
 If however, a strip of copper metal is placed in iron ll sulphate solution, then
no reactions. This is because copper is less reactive than iron and hence
cannot displaces.
 When a strip of copper metal is placed in a solution of AgNO3. The solution
becomes gradually blue and a shining coating of silver metal gets deposited
on the copper strip. The reaction may be written as:
2AgNO3(aq) + Cu(s) → Cu(NO3)2 + 2Ag
Silver nitrate Copper nitrate Silver
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 (colourless solution) (blue colour)

Reactivity of metals/ Reactivity Series:

Fe + CuSO4  FeSO4 + Cu
Zn + CuSO4  ZnSO4 + Cu

4. Reaction of metals with metal salts:

 Reactive metals can displace less reactive metals from their compounds in
solution or molten form.
 Reactivity of elements can be understood as a tendency to attain a
completely filled valence shell.
 Atom of metals can lose electrons from valence shells to form cations (+ve
ions).
 Atom of non-metals gain electrons in valence shell to form anions (–ve ions).
 Oppositely, charged ions attract each other and are held by strong
electrostatic forces of attraction forming ionic compounds.

How do metals and non-metals react?

Metals lose valence electron(s) and form cations.
Non-metals gain those electrons in their valence shell and form anions.
The cation and the anion are attracted to each other by strong electrostatic
force, thus forming an ionic bond.
For example: In Calcium chloride, the ionic bond is formed by oppositely
charged calcium and chloride ions.
Calcium atom loses 2 electrons and attains the electronic configuration of
the nearest noble gas (Ar). By doing so, it gains a net charge of +2.

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The two Chlorine atoms take one electron each, thus gaining a charge of -1
(each) and attain the electronic configuration of the nearest noble gas (Ar).

Ionic Compounds
The electrostatic attractions between the oppositely charged ions hold the
compound together.
The compound formed by the transfer of electrons from a metal to a non-
metal are known as ionic or electrovalent compounds.

Example: MgCl2, CaO, MgO, NaCl etc.

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Formation of NaCl
Na → Na+ + e-
2, 8, 1 2, 8
Sodium cation
Cl + e- → Cl-
2, 8, 7 2, 8, 8
Chloride anion

Formation of MgCl2
Mg  Mg2+ + 2e–
2,8,2 2,8 (Magnesium cation)
Cl2 + 2e–  2Cl–
2,8,7 2,8,8 (Chloride anion)

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 Properties of Ionic compound:

Activity
Take samples of sodium chloride, potassium iodide, barium chloride or any
other salt from the science laboratory.
Physical state of these salts
Take a small amount of a sample on a metal spatula and heat.
Did the sample impart any colour to the flame?
Try to dissolve the samples in water, petrol and Kerosene.
Solubility –
Make a circuit and insert the electrodes into a solution of one salt.
Observation –

Physical Nature: Solid and hard due to strong inter-ionic force of attraction;
generally brittle.

Conduction of electricity:
Ionic compounds conduct electricity in the molten or aqueous state when
ions become free and act as charge carriers.
In solid form, ions are strongly held by electrostatic forces of attractions and
not free to move; hence do not conduct electricity.
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For example, ionic compounds such as NaCl does not conduct
electricity when solid conduct electricity but when dissolved in water or in a
molten state, it will conduct electricity.

Melting and Boiling Points of Ionic Compounds

In ionic compounds, the strong electrostatic forces between ions require a
high amount of energy to break. Thus, the melting point and boiling point of
an ionic compound are usually very high.

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Solubility of Ionic Compounds

Most ionic compounds are soluble in water due to the separation of ions by
water. This occurs due to the polar nature of water.
For example, NaCl is a 3-D salt crystal composed of Na+ and Cl− ions bound
together through electrostatic forces of attractions. When a crystal of NaCl
comes into contact with water, the partial positively charged ends of
water molecules interact with the Cl− ions, while the negatively charged end
of the water molecules interacts with the Na+ ions. This ion-dipole
interaction between ions and water molecules assist in the breaking of the
strong electrostatic forces of attractions within the crystal and ultimately in
the solubility of the crystal.

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