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Concept
Reactivity series
Summary
In chemistry, a reactivity series (or activity series) is an empirical, calculated, and structurally analytical progression of a series of metals, arranged by their "reactivity" from highest to lowest. It is used to summarize information about the reactions of metals with acids and water, single displacement reactions and the extraction of metals from their ores.
Going from the bottom to the top of the table the metals:
increase in reactivity;
lose electrons (oxidize) more readily to form positive ions;
corrode or tarnish more readily;
require more energy (and different methods) to be isolated from their compounds;
become stronger reducing agents (electron donors).
There is no unique and fully consistent way to define the reactivity series, but it is common to use the three types of reaction listed below, many of which can be performed in a high-school laboratory (at least as demonstrations).
The most reactive metals, such as sodium, will react with cold water to produce hydrogen and the metal hydroxide:
2 Na (s) + 2 H2O (l) →2 NaOH (aq) + H2 (g)
Metals in the middle of the reactivity series, such as iron, will react with acids such as sulfuric acid (but not water at normal temperatures) to give hydrogen and a metal salt, such as iron(II) sulfate:
Fe (s) + H2SO4 (l) → FeSO4 (aq) + H2 (g)
There is some ambiguity at the borderlines between the groups. Magnesium, aluminium and zinc can react with water, but the reaction is usually very slow unless the metal samples are specially prepared to remove the surface layer of oxide which protects the rest of the metal. Copper and silver will react with nitric acid; but because nitric acid is an oxidizing acid, the oxidizing agent is not the H+ ion as in normal acids, but the NO3− ion.
The reactivity series is sometimes quoted in the strict reverse order of standard electrode potentials, when it is also known as the "electrochemical series".
The following list includes the metallic elements of the first six periods. It is mostly based on tables provided by NIST.
Official source
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