Activity Series

Phenomenon Nail and Solution Before Nail and Solution After

Diatomic Elements Some non-metals are unstable by themselves so they exist as a pair (bonded with themselves)

What is it? List of elements in order of reactivity Elements at the top are most reactive Elements on bottom are lease reactive

Why? The activity series is used to determine if a reaction will take place. Will water react with aluminum foil? Will water react with potassium metal?

How does it work? A single element can only replace something less reactive So using the activity series, an element can only replace something that is lower on the list Like replaces like (metals replace metals)

MgCl2 + Li  KI + Br2  Al + Pb(NO3)2  NaCl(s)+ Br2 

Fe + H2O(l)  H2O (g) + Zn  HCl(acid) + Mg  Cu + HCl 