1. Predicting Single Displacement Reactions
The Activity Series
Predicting Single Displacement Reactions
Thursday, February 1st, 2018

2. THE ACTIVITY SERIES Not every single-replacement reaction will happen.
The element on the reactant side must be more “active” than the one it could replace.
Scientists have listed the order of activity of elements in THE ACTIVITY SERIES.

3. Let’s look at several reactions: Fe + CuSO4  Cu + Fe2(SO4)3
Li + H2O  LiOH + H2
Experiments reveal trends.
- The activity series ranks the relative reactivity of metals.
It allows us to predict if certain chemicals will undergo single displacement reactions when mixed:
metals near the top are most reactive and will displace metals near the bottom. K Na Li Ca Mg Al Zn Fe Ni Sn Pb H Cu Hg Ag Au

4. Q: Which of these will react? Fe + CuSO4  Ni + NaCl  Li + ZnCO3  .
Q: Which of these will react?
Fe + CuSO4 
Ni + NaCl 
Li + ZnCO3 
Al + CuCl2  K Na Li Ca Mg Al Zn Fe Ni Sn Pb H Cu Hg Ag Au

5. Q: Which of these will react? Fe + CuSO4  Ni + NaCl  Li + ZnCO3  .
Q: Which of these will react?
Fe + CuSO4 
Ni + NaCl 
Li + ZnCO3 
Al + CuCl2  K Na Li Ca Mg Al Zn Fe Ni Sn Pb H Cu Hg Ag Au
Cu + Fe2(SO4)3
Yes, Fe is above Cu

6. Q: Which of these will react? Fe + CuSO4  Ni + NaCl  Li + ZnCO3  K Na Li Ca Mg Al Zn Fe Ni Sn Pb H Cu Hg Ag Au
No, Ni is below Na
Q: Which of these will react?
Fe + CuSO4 
Ni + NaCl 
Li + ZnCO3 
Al + CuCl2 
Cu + Fe2(SO4)3
NR (no reaction)

7. Q: Which of these will react? Fe + CuSO4  Ni + NaCl  Li + ZnCO3  .
Q: Which of these will react?
Fe + CuSO4 
Ni + NaCl 
Li + ZnCO3 
Al + CuCl2  K Na Li Ca Mg Al Zn Fe Ni Sn Pb H Cu Hg Ag Au
Yes, Li is above Zn
Cu + Fe2(SO4)3
NR (no reaction)
Zn + Li2CO3

8. .Q: Which of these will react? Fe + CuSO4  Ni + NaCl  Li + ZnCO3 
Al + CuCl2  K Na Li Ca Mg Al Zn Fe Ni Sn Pb H Cu Hg Ag Au
Cu + Fe2(SO4)3
NR (no reaction)
Zn + Li2CO3
Cu + AlCl3
Yes, Al is above Cu

9. H is the only nonmetal listed. K Na Li Ca Mg Al Zn Fe Ni Sn Pb H Cu Hg Ag Au
H is the only nonmetal listed.
H2 may be displaced from acids or can be given off when a metal reacts with H2O (producing H2 + metal hydroxide).
The reaction with H2O depends on metal reactivity & water temp.
cold H2O
hot H2O
steam
acid

10. A: No for cold, yes if it is hot/steam Mg + H2O  hot H2OK Na Li Ca Mg Al Zn Fe Ni Sn Pb H Cu Hg Ag Au
cold H2O
Q: Will Mg react with H2O?
A: No for cold, yes if it is hot/steam
Mg + H2O 
hot H2O
H2 + Mg(OH)2
steam
Q: Will Zinc react with hydrochloric acid?
A: Zn + HCl 
acid
H2 + ZnCl2

11. Complete these reactions: Al + H2O(steam)  Cu + H2O  Ca + H2SO4  K Na Li Ca Mg Al Zn Fe Ni Sn Pb H Cu Hg Ag Au
cold H2O
Complete these reactions:
Al + H2O(steam) 
Cu + H2O 
Ca + H2SO4 
Na + H2O 
hot H2O
steam
acid

12. cold H2O hot H2O H2 + Al(OH)3 steam NR H2 + CaSO4 acid H2 + NaOH K NaLi Ca Mg Al Zn Fe Ni Sn Pb H Cu Hg Ag Au
cold H2O
Complete these reactions:
Al + H2O(steam) 
Cu + H2O 
Ca + H2SO4 
Na + H2O 
hot H2O
H2 + Al(OH)3
steam NR
H2 + CaSO4
acid
H2 + NaOH

13. Activity Series Review
All metals will have a specific place in the activity series. For simplicity, only the most common metals are shown.
The metals near the top of the activity series are more reactive because their valence electrons are more easily removed.