Electrochemical Series

Objectives
Students can describe the principles to
construct an eletrochemical series.
Students can describe the importance of
electrochemical series.
Students can synthesized an
electrochemical series from the
experiments.

Definition
The arrangement of metal can be
constructed by the ability of metal
ionization. (ionized)

This series will be constructed based on :

The potential different between a pair of
metal voltage.
- more further situated in
electrochemical series, larger voltage
that will be produced.

 The ability of metal to displace the another metal

from aqueous solution.
- in electrochemical series, the metal
which situated higher in the series or
more electropositive, it will
displace the other metal below in the
series from it salt solution.
- it is because the metal which situated
higher able to produce ion more.

 for examples :
Zinc can displace the copper metal
from the copper (II) sulphate solution.
This reaction is called the displacement
reaction.

The series are important to determine:

Cell terminal :
- the metal which situated higher in
electrochemical series is negative
terminal.
- the metal which situated lower in
electrochemical series is positive terminal.

 Cell voltage :
- compare with qualitative to predict the
metal relative situation which is used in
this series.
To predict the displacement of metals from
their salt solutions:

 To predict when a metal can displace

hydrogen from an aqueous acid or
water
To compare the electropositivity of a
metal or its tendency to form ions

Electrochemical Series
Pottasium
Sodium
Calsium
Magnesium
Aluminium
Zink
Ferum
Stanum
Plumbum
Hidrogen
Tendency to discharge ion increase
Copper
(less electropositive)
Argentum

Metallic
pair

Positive
terminal

Negative
terminal

Voltage

Mg/Cu

copper

magnesium 2.72

Fe/Cu

copper

ferum

0.78

Al/Cu

copper

aluminium

2.00

Zn/Cu

copper

zink

1.10

Ag/Cu

Argentum

copper

1.13

 Mg Al Zn Fe Cu Ag
Less electropositive

Based on the potential difference between

two metals, the arrangement of the metal
in the electrochemical series is as above.