The Reactivity Series

Oxidation: KEY INFORMATION

Adding O2 (oxygen) is oxidation Positive
Loss of electrons
Removing C (carbon) is also oxidation Anode
Negative
Is
Reduction: Cathode

Adding C (carbon) is reduction

Gain of electrons Oxidation
Removing O2 (oxygen) is also reduction
Is
Loss (electrons)
An ore Is a rock that contains enough metal that can be extracted 2 Ways Reduction
to extract metals from metal ores are electrolysis and reduction. Is
Gain (electrons)

Whether it is worth extracting a particular metal depends on:

• How easy it is to extract from its ore

• How much metal does the ore contain
• Market demand and economic value

− When metal reacts with other substances, metal atoms

form positive ions
− Reactivity of a metal is related to its tendency to form
positive ions
− Metals can be arranged in order of their reactivity in a
reactivity series

Key Points

• Native metals are metals that are found in nature

in their pure uncombined form.
• Carbon is included to clarify the extraction
process of iron in a blast furnace.
• Hydrogen is included because any metal below it
will not react with dilute acid.
Reactions of acids
• Acid reacts with some metals to produce a salt and hydrogen/water:
o acid + metal -> salt + hydrogen
o acid + metal oxide -> salt + water
o acid + metal hydroxide -> salt + water
KEY INFORMATION
• These are redox reactions – this means that one substance is
reduced and another substance is oxidised (OIL RIG) Soluble: Capable of
o E.g. 2HCl + Mg -> MgCl2 + H2 being dissolved in a
2+
o Magnesium: Mg -> Mg , so ionic equation is Mg -> liquid.
2+ -
Mg + 2e , Mg has lost 2 electrons so Mg has been
Insoluble: Not capable
oxidised
of being dissolved in a
o Hydrogen: 2H+ -> H2, so ionic equation is 2H+ + 2e- ->
liquid.
H2, Hydrogen has gained 2 electrons, so Hydrogen has
been reduced
• Because magnesium has been oxidised and hydrogen has been reduced in the same
reaction, this is a redox reaction.

Neutralization of acids and salt production

• Acids are neutralised by alkalis (e.g. soluble metal hydroxides) and bases (e.g. insoluble metal
hydroxides and metal oxides) to produce salts and water
o Acid + alkali -> salt + water
o Acid + base -> salt +water
• Acids are neutralised by metal carbonates to produce salts, water and carbon dioxide.
o Acid + metal carbonate -> salt + water + carbon dioxide
• The salt produced… KEY INFORMATION
o In alkali and base reactions depends on the acid Concentrated refers to a
used… substance that has a high
▪ Hydrochloric acid (HCl) produces chlorides proportion of solute
(XCl) (Substance dissolved in a
▪ Nitric acid (HNO3) produces nitrates (XNO3) solvent to form a
▪ Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) produces sulfates (XSO4) solution.) to solvent
o It also depends on the positive ions in the base, alkali (Substance that dissolves a
or carbonate i.e. the metal (which is the X in the salts solute to form a solution.),
above). indicating a strong or
o remember: the charges on the positive ion from the dense solution. Dilute, on
base/alkali/carbonate and the negative ion from the the other hand, refers to a
acid must add up to zero. substance that has a low
e.g. if you have sodium hydroxide and sulfuric acid, proportion of solute to
you have Na+ ions and SO42- ions, so you need 2x Na+ solvent, indicating a weak
ions, giving you the salt: Na2SO4 the charges on the or less dense solution.
ions from acids are: Cl-, NO3- and SO42-
Soluble salts

• They can be made from acids by reacting them with solid insoluble substances, such as
metals, metal oxides, hydroxides or carbonates:

Add the chosen solid insoluble substance to the acid then the solid will dissolve. The acid has been
neutralised when excess solid sinks to the bottom, so keep adding until the solid is in excess, then
Filter out excess solid using a filter funnel and filter paper in a flask, evaporate the salt solution
using a water bath, until crystals forms, leave it for 24 to slowly evaporate and cool.

The pH scale and neutralizations

• Acids produce H+ ions in aqueous solutions
• Alkalis produce OH- ions in aqueous solutions
• The pH scale (0 to 14) measures the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, and can be measured
using universal indicator of a pH probe
o pH 7 is neutral
o pH < 7 is acidic
o pH > 7 is alkaline
• H (aq) + OH- (aq) -> H2O(l) is the ionic equation of any neutralisation reaction
+

KEY INFORMATION

Aqueous refers specifically

to a solution in which
water is the solvent
(Substance capable of
dissolving other
substances), while liquid is
a more general term for a
substance in a fluid state,
including but not limited
Strong and Weak acids to water-based solutions.

Strong acid = completely ionised in aqueous solution, e.g. hydrochloric, nitric and sulfuric acids

Weak acid = partially/slightly ionised in aqueous solution, Ethanoic, citric and carbonic acids

The stronger the acid, the lower the pH (for a given conc. of aq. solutions) E

As the pH decreases by one unit, the H+ conc. of the solution increases by a factor of 10.

Strong and weak is NOT the same as concentrated and dilute – the latter refers to the amount of
substance in a given volume, whereas the former refers to the H+ ion conc in aq. solutions
The process of electrolysis
• When an ionic substance is melted or dissolved, the ions are free to move about within the
liquid or solution.
• Passing a current through substances that are molten or solution means that the solution
can be broken down into elements. This is electrolysis, and the substance being broken down
is the electrolyte.
• During electrolysis, positively charged ions move to the negative electrode (cathode), and
negatively charged ions move to the positive electrode (anode).
• Ions are discharged at the electrodes producing elements

Electrolysis of molten ionic compounds

• When a simple ionic compound (e.g. lead bromide) is electrolysed in the molten state using
inert electrodes, the metal (lead) is produced at the cathode and the non-metal (bromine) is
produced at the anode
• this is because the metal is the positive ions and the non-metal is the negative ions

Using electrolysis to extract metals

• Metals that are more reactive than carbon (e.g. aluminium), so too reactive to be extracted
by reduction with carbon, are extracted by electrolysis of molten compounds.
• Large amounts of energy are used in the extraction process to melt the compounds and to
produce the electrical current.
• Aluminium is manufactured by the electrolysis of a molten mixture of aluminium oxide and
cryolite using carbon as the positive electrode (anode).
o Aluminium oxide has a very high melting point, so it would be too expensive to melt it, which
is why it is mixed with cryolite
o the positive electrodes need to be continually replaced because oxygen is formed, which
reacts with the carbon of the positive electrodes, forming carbon dioxide, and they gradually
burn away
• Metals that react with carbon can be extracted by electrolysis as well

Electrolysis of aqueous solutions

• The ions discharged when an aqueous solution is electrolysed using inert electrodes depend
on the relative reactivity of the elements involved.
• At the negative electrode (cathode), hydrogen is produced unless the metal is less reactive
than hydrogen. This is because more reactive ions want to stay within the solution.
• At the positive electrode, if OH- and halide ions (Cl-, Br-, I-) are present, then one of the
halide ions will be produced. If no halide is present, oxygen is formed.
• This happens because in the aqueous solution water molecules break down producing H+
ions and OH- ions that are discharged
Representation of reactions at electrodes as half equations
• This is an example of a half equation; the small number is always the same as the 2 larger
numbers within the equation. & electrons are represented by the symbol ‘e-‘

• writing half equations for the reactions at each electrode:

o negative electrode: X+ -> X, so ionic equation must be: X+ + e- -> X, electrons gained,
so positive ions are reduced
o positive electrode: X- -> X, so ionic equation must be: X- -> e- + X, electrons are lost,
so negative ions are oxidised

Oxidation and reduction in terms of electrons

Tests for different elements and compounds:

• Glucose Test: Add Benedict’s solution then boil/heat it at 65 degrees Celsius or above, (if
glucose is present the blue) colour changes to yellow / green / orange / brown / (brick) red.

• Carbon Dioxide Test (Limewater Test): Bubble the gas through limewater (calcium hydroxide
solution) for a positive result the Limewater turns milky/cloudy, indicating the presence of
carbon dioxide.

• Hydrogen Test (Squeaky Pop Test): Collect a sample of the gas in a test tube. Hold a lighted
splint near the mouth of the test tube, for a positive result a squeaky pop sound indicates
the presence of hydrogen.

• Chlorine Test (Damp Litmus Paper Test): Pass the gas through damp blue litmus paper, the
blue litmus paper turns red and then bleaches, indicating the presence of chlorine.

• Iodine Test (Iodine Starch Test): Procedure: Add a few drops of iodine solution to the
sample, the formation of a dark blue-black colour indicates the presence of starch.

• Oxygen test: Place a glowing splint near the gas being examined; if it's oxygen, the splint will
relight.
o Another method involves adding hydrogen peroxide to a test tube and inserting a glowing
splint; oxygen presence will cause the splint to relight.

• Water test: For water, anhydrous copper or sulfate can be used. This white powder turns
blue in the presence of water; mixing it with the substance being tested reveals the colour
change.
o Another method is using cobalt chloride paper, which is initially blue but turns pink in the
presence of water; if the paper changes colour upon contact with the substance, water is
present.