An Activity Series of Ions Lab Report Shakil M, Horby L, Shaquile P, Fazal M April 11th 2012 Mr.

Vu Chemistry

Introduction: Many reactions occur in our daily lives to benefit and improve our wellness and surroundings. We know that reactions are classified into many types, they are: synthesis reactions, decomposition reactions, single displacement reactions, and double displacement reactions. Here, in this experiment we will have a look on single displacement reactions which includes reactions between metals and metal ions. A single displacement reaction is a reaction in which an element displaces another element in a compound, producing a new element. This will also include the introduction of the reactivity series in which most reactions will have to be referred back to in order to find out which element displaces which in a compound. The reactivity series states that an element can only displace an element from a compound solution below it, and the farther apart two elements are, the more likely it is that the displacement reaction will occur quickly. Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to find the trend of reactivity of metal ions. Hypothesis: I predict that the trend of reactivity of metal ions used in this experiment will decrease from top to bottom in a group, and will decrease from left to right across a period. The most reactive to least reactive metal ions that would be used in this experiment are Mg2+, Zn2+, Fe2+, Sn2+, Cu2+. Variables The controlled variable is the variable that does not change throughout a test, and in this experiment it will be the amount of the five different dilute solutions, which is 0.1 mol/L. The controlled variable also includes the mass, and the temperature of the dilute solutions, and the well plate which it would be kept in. The manipulated variable is the variable that is purposely changed, and in this case it

would be the five different metals needed to react with the solutions. The sand paper can be included in this type of variable since it is being changed after we smooth the metal strips. The responding variable is a factor that is measured as result of the manipulated variable, and in this case it would be the chemical reactions between the metal strips and the solution. Equipment and Materials Please refer to page 180 of the Nelson Chemistry 11 University Preparation textbook. Procedure 1. One must first wear chemical safety goggles to protect the eyes, as well as lab apron and gloves 2. Clean materials, and tools being used (such as the well plate) and the surrounding workstations 3. Then gather the five metal strips stated in the equipment and materials stated earlier 4. Use the sand paper to clean the metal strips 5. Divide each metal into 5 equal pieces of the specific metal strip so that one metal is in each solution 6. Fill five spots in the well plate of the same solution by placing five droplets in each spot. Repeat this with the other solutions until you fill 5 spots of the well plate. 7. Place one of each strip of magnesium metal in the five different diluted solutions. Make sure each solution is tested with one metal. 8. Repeat step six with zinc, copper, tin and iron 9. Record a reaction only when a new solid forms. 10. Dispose the contents of the well plate as directed by your teacher 11. Clean your workstation and wash your hands

Observations

Ion Metals
Mg (s) Mg2+ (aq) Zn2+ (aq) Fe2+ (aq) Sn2+ (aq) Black coating appears, and shininess is lost, and becomes bigger (like a sponge) after stirring Fur type spikes appear (like a hairball) Cu2+ (aq) Black coating appears, and shininess is lost

Black coating Black coating Black coating appears, and appears, and appears, and shininess is lost shininess is lost shininess is lost

Zn (s)

No Reaction

No Reaction

Some Discolouration

A black coating

Fe (s)

No Reaction

Little Discolouration

No Reaction

Little discolouration

Some bits are floating on top which have black coating, and bits on the bottom have a brown-reddish coating Brown Discolouration Discolouration, it turns silver

Sn (s) No Reaction Cu (s) No Reaction No Reaction No Reaction

Brown colouring, and settles to the bottom No Reaction

No Reaction Little Discolouration

Analyze and Evaluate a) Variables measured/recorded and/or manipulated in this investigation were the metals, Mg(s), Zn(s), Fe(s), Sn(s), and Cu(s) and the responding variables which are the diluted solutions (MgSO4, ZnSo4, FeSO4, SnCl2, and CuSO4). The type of relationship being tested was the ability for the metal to replace a metal ion in the solution to determine whether or not a single displacement reaction will take place.

b) The trend of reactivity of metal ions is opposite of the reactivity of metals since based on the activity series, a metal can only displace elements below it from compounds in a solution but cannot displace elements above it. This proves my hypothesis to be incorrect as I had stated earlier that the most stronger reactivity of ions to the least reactivity of ions is Mg2+, Zn2+, Fe2+, Sn2+, Cu2+, when in actuality the trend from most to least reactive is the opposite, Cu2+, Sn2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, Mg2+. In the observation table above, Copper metal reacts with all five metals, which would deduce that it would be the most strongest. Tin solution reacted with four out the five metals, while the iron aqueous reacted with three out of the five metals. The Zinc solution reacted with two metals and the Magnesium aqueous reacted with one solution. c) The trends in reactivity of metals compared to the trends in the reactivity of ions is that reactive metals have unreactive ions such as Mg (s) and Mg2+, and unreactive metals tend to have reactive ions such as Cu (s) and Cu2+. The reactivity of metals follows the same order as the activity series, but the reactivity of metal ions solutions is opposite of the order because the Cu2+ is far more reactive to Mg2+ while comparing the metals, Mg (s) was far more reactive to Cu (s). d) Using the activity series of metals, I predict that the highest to lowest reactive metal ions will be Barium (Ba2+), Nickel (Ni2+), and Mercury (Hg2+). This can be justified by observing the activity series and the trend that metals become most reactive to least reactive from left to right across a row. e) The chemical equations for the reactions in the observations table above is: i) ii) iii) iv) v) Mg + ZnSO4 Fe + ZnSO4 Sn+ ZnSO4 Cu+ ZnSO4 Fe + MgSO4 MgSO4 + Zn FeSO4 + Zn SnSO4 + Zn CuSO4 + Zn FeSO4 + Mg

vi) vii) viii) ix) x) xi) xii) xiii) xiv) xv) xvi) xvii) xviii) xix) xx)

Sn + MgSO4 Cu + MgSO4 Zn+ MgSO4 Mg+FeSO4 Sn+FeSO4 Cu+ FeSO4 Zn+ FeSO4 Mg + SnCl2 Fe + SnCl2 Cu + SnCl2 Zn + SnCl2 Mg+CuSO4 Fe+CuSO4 Sn+CuSO4 Zn+CuSO4

SnSO4+ Mg CuSO4 + Mg ZnSO4+Mg MgSO4 + Fe SnSO4 + Fe CuSO4 + Fe ZnSO4 + Fe MgCl2 + Sn FeCl2 + Sn CuCl2 + Sn ZnCl2 + Sn MgSO4 + Cu FeSO4 + Cu SnSO4 + Cu ZnSO4 + Cu

Apply and Extend Some nuclear power plants use seawater as coolant, choosing the correct type of piping to carry seawater is critical because seawater contains trace amounts of dissolved silver and gold ions. Using my knowledge learnt from this experiment and previous knowledge of the activity series I believe that carrying seawater with copper piping will not be suitable. According to the Nelson Chemistry 11 University Preparation textbook, states the farther apart two elements are, the more likely it is that the displacement reaction will occur quickly. To determine whether or not a reaction between an element and a compound will proceed, look at the relative positions of the two metals in the activity series. If the

higher (more active) metal is the element, the reaction proceeds. If the higher metal is in the compound, no reaction occurs. (p. 165) This proves that if gold and silver ion (which are near the bottom of the activity series) would bond together the single displacement reaction would occur because firstly, the ions are at the bottom meaning they are not able to displace any other element above it. Copper and though would be able to displace a gold or silver ion, and thus causing a reaction but since their relative positions between them are very minimal, the reaction will take a very long time. Since the ions also have NaCl moving around them, it will deteriorate the copper which is mainly used to transfer fresh water and not salt/seawater. Thus a single displacement reaction is likely to occur. Conclusion: In conclusion, we can infer from our experiment that the reactivity of metals follows the same order as the activity series, but the reactivity of metal ions solutions is opposite of the order. Hence, single displacement reaction will take place displacing the metal (lower in the activity series) from the compound. Some sources of error that occurred in this experiment could be the clean metal strips used which may have contained impurities which would definitely affect the final result. Another error that may alter the results was that enough time would not have been given for the reaction to proceed. Lastly, human error can also be involved if two different solutions had contaminated one another causing altered results, or when the spot plate had been drained of a previous solution it was not rinsed properly causing a mixture of two aqueous solutions. My hypothesis was wrong in the end since I had stated the reactivity opposite to the actual results of the metal ions which were, Cu2+, Sn2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, and Mg2+. I had confused the reactivity of the metals to the metal ions, and this small difference was ignored which created the wrong hypothesis mentioned above.