MYP 3 Science: Reactivity and Displacement Reactions Worksheet

Reactivity Series of Metals

• The reactivity series is used to predict which metals will displace other metals from a solution of their salts.
• Metals can be arranged in order of reactivity, with the most reactive metal first and the least reactive metal last.

Metal Reactivity

• Sodium is a very reactive metal.
• Aluminum is more reactive than zinc and less reactive than magnesium.
• Tin is more reactive than copper and less reactive than iron.
• Lead is more reactive than copper and less reactive than tin.

Displacement Reactions

• A reaction takes place when a more reactive metal displaces a less reactive metal from a solution of its salt.
• The reaction between zinc and copper sulfate can be written as a word equation: zinc + copper sulfate → zinc sulfate + copper.
• There would be no reaction between potassium chloride and zinc because potassium is more reactive than zinc.

Chemical Equations

• Metal + oxygen → metal oxide.
• Metal + water → metal hydroxide + hydrogen.
• Metal + acid → metal salt + hydrogen.