Reactivity

Combined Science 8
5.1.Reactivity and displacement reaction
Lesson objectives:
1. Understand physical properties, chemical properties, physical
change and chemical change.
2. Understand chemical reaction and word equation of chemical
reaction.
3. Describe reactivity series of metals
 Physical change versus chemical change
• Physical properties: characteristics that are observed by senses, they
are determined without destroying matter.
• Chemical properties: indicates how a substance reacts with
something else, matter will be changed into a new substance after the
reaction.
• Physical change: change in physical properties such as size, shape or
state and it does not involve the formation of a new substance.
• Chemical change: change in physical and chemical properties and it
involves the formation of a new substance.
 Physical change versus chemical change
1. Understand physical properties, chemical properties, physical
change and chemical change.
Note: work on the Worksheet of “Physical and Chemical Properties
and Changes”
Understanding chemical reaction and chemical equation

In a chemical reaction, there are two parts:

• Reactants: the substances that undergo reaction. They are written on
the left side of the chemical equation.
• Products: the substances that are formed or produced as the result of
the reaction. They are written on the right side of the chemical
equation.
Chemical equation: the way how the chemical reaction is written.
Understanding chemical reaction and chemical equation
There are two major ways how the chemical equation is written:
• Word equation: only giving the name of the reactants and products.
• Symbol equation: writing the chemical reaction by giving the formula of each
reactant and product.
The symbol equation can also provide the states of reactants and products
involved in the reaction.
The states of substances:
• Solid (s)
• Liquid (l)
• Gas (g)
• In solution or aqueous (aq)
Understanding chemical reaction and
chemical equation
Example of word equation and symbol equation:
1. Hydrogen reacts with oxygen to produce water
Word equation: hydrogen + oxygen  water
Balanced symbol equation: 2 H2(g) + O2(g)  2 H2O(l)
2. Magnesium reacts with oxygen to form a compound which is magnesium
oxide
Word equation: magnesium + oxygen  magnesium oxide
Balanced symbol equation: 2 Mg(s) + O2(g)  2 MgO(s)
Note: yellow shade: the formula of the substance
green shade: the state of the substance
Practice of writing word equation

1. Aluminium + iron(III) oxide  aluminium oxide + iron

2. Aluminium chloride + calcium hydroxide  aluminium hydroxide +

calcium chloride

3. Carbon dioxide + calcium hydroxide  calcium carbonate + water

Understanding chemical reaction and
chemical equation
• During a chemical reaction, the chemical bonds between atoms of the
reactants are broken and then the atoms rearrange themselves to
form the new substance which is the product, as illustrated below.

https://www.acs.org/middleschoolchemistry/simulations/chap
ter6/lesson7.html#simulation672
 Understanding chemical reaction and
chemical equation
• During the chemical reaction, the total mass of substances before and
after reaction stay the same. This is called as the law of mass
conservation.

Total numbers of
atoms in the
reactant’s side Total numbers of
before reaction = atoms in the
9 product’s side
after reaction = 9
Understanding chemical reaction and
chemical equation
• Accordingly, the symbol equation of a chemical reaction must be
balanced showing that the total number of atoms of each element on
the reactant’s side = total number of atoms of each element on the
product’s side
• During the chemical reaction, the total energy before and after
reaction also stay the same. This is called as the law of conservation
of energy.
Lesson objectives
1. Understand the pure substance can be either element or
compound.
2. Write the formula of an element and a simple ionic compound.
3. Write the formula of ionic compound with polyatomic ion
Pure substance: element and compound
• Pure substance can be classified into two types:
• Elements
• Compounds

• Element is pure substance that contains same atoms and therefore it

(the substance) cannot be divided into simpler substances.

Iron bar
Chlorine gas
Bromine
Symbol and formula of element

Iron bar

• Iron bar contains of atoms of iron. The symbol of atom of iron is Fe. The iron bar is
example of substance of iron. The formula of iron as a substance is Fe.
• In conclusion, the formula of a metal is the same as the symbol of the atom of the
metal as in the periodic table.
Symbol and formula of element

Molecule of bromine (Each

molecule of bromine has 2
atoms of bromine)

Bromine

• As a substance, bromine is liquid at room temperature. Liquid bromine is made of

molecules of bromine where each molecule of bromine contains 2 atoms of
bromine. The symbol of bromine atom is Br. The formula of bromine as a substance
is Br2.
Symbol and formula of element

Chlorine gas
• As a substance, chlorine is gas at room temperature. Chlorine gas is made of molecules of
chlorine where each molecule of chlorine contains 2 atoms of chlorine. The symbol of
chlorine atom is Cl. The formula of chlorine as a substance is Cl2.
• In conclusion, the formula of non-metallic element which has the structure as simple
molecules (simple molecular structure), is based on the numbers of the atom in each
molecule.
• Number “2” is the subscript which tells the number of atom in the molecule.
Symbol and formula of element

• As a substance, neon is a gas at room temperature. Neon gas is made of billions of

individual neon atoms moving randomly. The symbol of neon atom is Ne. The
formula of neon as a substance is Ne.

• In conclusion, the formula of non-metallic element which has the structure as

individual atom (the noble gases) is the same as the symbol of its atom.
Formula of a compound
Compound is pure substance that contains two or more different
elements, that combine chemically in a fixed ratio.

Examples:
• Hydrogen + oxygen  water compound
H2O Formula

• Sodium + chlorine  sodium chloride compound

NaCl Formula
Formula of a compound
Compound is pure substance that contains two or more different elements,
that combine chemically in a fixed ratio.

The compounds can be classified into:

• Ionic compounds (example: sodium chloride)
• Covalent compound (example: water)

The structure of a compound can be classified:

• Giant structure (giant ionic lattice structure and giant covalent lattice
structure)
• Simple structure (simple molecular structure)
Formula of compounds: the oxides
• Oxides: a compound of two different elements, one of them is
oxygen. Example:
magnesium + oxygen  magnesium oxide. Formula: MgO
potassium + oxygen  potassium oxide. Formula: K2O These
are
nitrogen + oxygen  nitrogen monoxide. Formula: NO oxides
carbon + oxygen  carbon dioxide. Formula: CO2
• When the oxide contains metallic element, the oxide is ionic
compound. Examples: MgO, K2O are ionic compounds.
Formula of compounds : the hydroxides
• Hydroxides: any compound that contain hydroxide ion. Hydroxide ion
= OH-. The name of the compound has “hydroxide”.

For example:

sodium hydroxide (Formula: NaOH)

calcium hydroxide (Formula: Ca(OH)2)

The summary:
• Element is pure substance that contains the same atoms so it cannot
be separated into simpler substances.
• The formula of metallic element is the same as the symbol of the
atom of the element.
• The formula of non-metallic element which is noble gas, is the same
as the symbol of the atom of the element.
• The formula of non-metallic element which the structure are simple
molecules (simple molecular structure), is the symbol of the atom
with subscript number showing the numbers of atom in one
molecule. Example: hydrogen (H2), oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2), chlorine
(Cl2). The formula of elements from group VII (halogens) is X2, X =
symbol of atom of the halogen.
The summary:
• Compound is pure substance that contains two or more different
elements that chemically bonded in a fixed ratio.
• Based on how the different elements chemically bonded there are 2
types of compounds: ionic compound and covalent compound.
• Based on the elements that make up the compound there are several
types of compounds for examples:
• Oxides = compound that contains 2 different elements, one of them is
oxygen. Oxides can be ionic compound or covalent compound.
• Hydroxides = ionic compound that contains hydroxide ion. Hydroxide ion = OH-
Practice:
Give the formula of the following elements:
1. Sodium
2. Copper
3. Iodine
4. Krypton
Practice:
Give the formula of the following elements:
1. Sodium = Na
2. Copper = Cu
3. Iodine = I2
4. Krypton = Kr
How to name and write the formula of ionic
compounds
• Work on the worksheet of “Name and Formula of ionic compounds”
Converting name of the substance into
chemical formula
Ionic compound:
1. Calcium oxide:
2. Magnesium chloride:
3. Potassium bromide:
4. Copper(II) chloride:
5. Iron(III) oxide:
The formula of some covalent compounds
Covalent compound:
1. Carbon dioxide: CO2
2. Carbon monoxide: CO
3. Nitrogen dioxide: NO2
4. Nitrogen monoxide: NO
5. Sulfur dioxide: SO2
6. Sulfur trioxide: SO3
7. Ammonia: NH3
8. Methane: CH4
Reactivity
• Reactivity means the ability to undergo reaction. A substance with
high reactivity means it easily reacts, therefore the reaction proceeds
quickly. A substance with low reactivity will react in slower rate.
• Elements can be put in order based on their reactivity.
• Metals can be put in an order based on their reactivity. Metal with
highest reactivity is at the top and metal with lowest reactivity is at
the bottom.
• The reactivity of metal can be deduced by performing reaction of
metal with water, oxygen and a dilute acid solution respectively.
• The observation of the reactions can be used to deduce the order of
reactivity of the metals.
Reaction with oxygen
Pattern of reaction:
Metal + oxygen  metal oxide
Examples of word
equation:
Sodium + oxygen  sodium oxide

Zinc + oxygen  zinc oxide

Copper + oxygen  copper(II)

oxide
Reaction with water
Pattern of reaction:
Metal + water  metal hydroxide + hydrogen
Examples of word equation:
Sodium + water  sodium hydroxide + hydrogen

Potassium + water  potassium hydroxide + hydrogen

Calcium + water  calcium hydroxide + hydrogen

Reaction with oxygen
As the metal becomes less reactive, the pattern of
reaction:
Metal + water  metal oxide + hydrogen

Examples of word equation:

Zinc + water  zinc oxide + hydrogen

Iron + water  iron oxide + hydrogen
Order of reactivity
series
Potassium
Sodium
Calcium
Magnesium
Zinc
Iron
Copper
Silver
Gold
Displacement reaction
• Chemical reaction has two parts: reactants (substances on the left
side of the arrow) and products (substances on the right side of the
arrow)
Example: magnesium + zinc chloride  magnesium chloride + zinc

Reactant Product

• Above is an example of single displacement reaction. Single

displacement reaction: there are two reactants involved in the
reaction, one is an element and the other is a compound.
Single displacement reaction
• Pattern of single displacement reaction:
Element (1) + Compound (1)  Compound (2) + element (2)
• First principle:
A + BC:
If A = metal; B = metal and C = non-metal; the displacement is
between A and B. Reaction: A + BC  AC + B.
If A = non-metal; B = metal and C = non-metal; the
displacement is between A and C. Reaction: A + BC  AB + C
Single displacement reaction
• Second principle:
If A = metal; B = metal and C = non-metal; the displacement
reaction can happen if metal A is more reactive than metal B.
A can displace B from its compound, which is BC.
Reaction: A + BC  AC + B. It shows that A is more reactive
metal than B, so it can displace B from BC.
Reaction: A + BC ; A is less reactive metal than B. It cannot
displace B from BC.
Single displacement reaction
• Second principle:
If A = non-metal; B = metal and C = non-metal; the displacement
reaction can happen if non-metal A is more reactive than non-
metal C.
A can displace C from its compound, which is BC.
Reaction: A + BC  AB + C. It shows that A is more reactive
non-metal than C, so it can displace C from BC.
Reaction: A + BC ; A is less reactive non-metal than C. It cannot
displace C from BC.
Do the skit
• Prepare the metal and non-metal sign
• Metal 1
• Metal 2
• Non-metal 1
• Non-metal 2
Single displacement reaction
•For example:
Magnesium + zinc chloride  magnesium chloride + zinc
Magnesium = metal; zinc = metal.
Magnesium is more reactive than zinc.
Magnesium displaces zinc from zinc chloride.

Copper + silver nitrate  copper nitrate + silver

Copper = metal; silver = metal.
Copper is more reactive than silver.
Copper displaces silver from silver nitrate.
Animation of single displacement reaction
• Single displacement reaction between copper and silver nitrate:
https://www.dlt.ncssm.edu/tiger/Flash/Stoich/SingleDisp_Reaction-M
etalToMetal.html
Single displacement reaction
• For example:
Chlorine + potassium bromide  potassium chloride + bromine
Chlorine = non-metal; bromide is from bromine = non-metal.
Chlorine is more reactive than bromine.
Chlorine displaces bromine from potassium bromide, releasing
bromine.
Workbook Exercise 5.1