Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry
9.4Reactivity series
Reactivity series in Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry: what the syllabus expects you to know, the learning objectives and how to practise.
Subtopic20 practice questions1 lesson
Learning objectives
What the syllabus expects you to be able to do.
- 9.4.1State the order of the reactivity series: potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, carbon, zinc, iron, hydrogen, copper, silver, gold.
- 9.4.2Describe the reactions, if any, of potassium, sodium and calcium with cold water, of magnesium with steam, and of magnesium, zinc, iron, copper, silver and gold with dilute hydrochloric acid, and explain them by the positions of the metals in the reactivity series.
- 9.4.3Deduce an order of reactivity from a set of experimental results.
- 9.4.4Supplement: describe the relative reactivity of metals as their tendency to form positive ions, shown by their displacement reactions, if any, with aqueous ions of magnesium, zinc, iron, copper and silver.
- 9.4.5Supplement: explain why aluminium appears unreactive in terms of its oxide layer.
Lessons
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The reactivity series and displacement reactions
35 min
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