Reactivity Series

Reactivity series, also known as the activity series, is a list of elements arranged in order of their decreasing reactivity with other substances. This series is important in predicting the outcomes of chemical reactions, particularly displacement reactions.

Though reactivity series is also applicable to non-metal, most discussion in this part is aimed at discussing the reactivity series of metals

Factors Affecting Reactivity

The position of an element in the reactivity series is determined by several factors:

  1. Ease of losing electrons: More reactive elements can more easily lose their valence electrons to form positive ions. This is related to the element's ionization energy.
  2. Strength of metallic bonding: Stronger metallic bonding results in lower reactivity, as more energy is required to break apart the metallic structure.
  3. Position in the Periodic Table: Reactivity generally increases going down a group and decreases going across a period in the periodic table.

Reactivity series of some common elements

As a Chemist enthusiast, one thing that you have to remember by and by is reactivity series, therefore, we have added old mnemonics to assist you in remembering them!

Metal Eng. mnemonicsSw. mnemonic Sw. mnemonic
Potassium (K)Pop Kaja Kaka
Sodium (Na)Sound na naomba
Calcium (Ca) Can Camera karanga
Magnesium (Mg)Make Mgeni Mgeni
Aluminium (Al)All Aliye Ale
Zinc (Zn) ZebrasZindua Zingine
Iron(Fe) in Fedha Ficha
Lead(Pb) LenaPale Pembeni
Hydrogen(H)Hide Havana Ha!
Copper(Cu)Completely Cuba Cumbe
Mercury(Hg) Meandering Hagawi Hagina
Silver(Ag) Silently Agawe Ameona
Gold(Au) Going away.Auawe Aulizwe
Note!
Some of the mnemonics above use the chemical symbols of elements and some uses the names of elements.

Practical applications of the reactivity series in industries or everyday life.

The reactivity series has several practical applications in industries and everyday life. Here are some of the key applications:
  1. Predicting the chemical Reactions:

    2. The position of an element in the reactivity series determines its behavior in displacement reactions.

    More reactive elements can displace less reactive elements from their compounds, while less reactive elements cannot displace more reactive elements.

    For example, if a piece of sodium metal is placed in a solution of copper sulfate, the sodium will displace the copper, forming sodium sulfate and copper metal:
    2 Na(s) + CuSO4(aq) → Na2SO4(aq) + Cu(s)
    However, if a piece of copper metal is placed in a solution of sodium chloride, no reaction will occur, as copper is less reactive than sodium.

  2. Prevention of Corrosion: More reactive metals like iron are often coated with less reactive metals like zinc (galvanization) to protect them from corrosion (rusting).

    Also use of sacrificial anodes (sacrificial protection) as a method of preventing rusting uses the reactivity series, where a more reactive metal is used to protect a less reactive metal from corrosion.

  3. Metal Extraction and Purification: The reactivity series is crucial in the extraction of metals from their ores.

    More reactive metals like sodium and magnesium are extracted using electrolysis, moderate reactive metals like iron are extracted by reduction with carbon or carbon monoxide, while least reactive metals like gold and platinum can be extracted using simpler chemical methods.

  4. Household Applications: The reactivity series is relevant in everyday life, such as in the selection of utensils, e.g avoiding the use of reactive metals like aluminum in acidic environments.

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