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Do you know the reactivity of copper or aluminium? Do you know which element reacts with which substance?<\/p>\n
Answers to these questions can be found easily with the help of the reactivity series, which will explain how the element\u2019s reactivity varies according to its group, atomic number, and mass. This helps you understand the reactivity series in more detail.<\/p>\n
The reactivity series is a periodic trend that explains how the reactivity of various elements decreases or increases from horizontal to vertical in the modern periodic table.<\/p>\n
The first thing you have to remember is that the reactivity is only observed in metals and not in any other elements that are present in the periodic table. Furthermore, reactivity is also known as activity series, and the main reason why this phenomenon is actively found in metals is that the outer orbitals in these elements are incomplete. Thus, with very small changes, the atoms in the elements tend to lose electrons quickly. So, metals that have high atomic numbers will be more reactive and will be prone to losing electrons easily.<\/p>\n
| Element Name<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Element Symbol<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity of the Element<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n| Potassium<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | K<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Most Reactive<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Sodium<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Na<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity Increases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Calcium<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Ca<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity Increases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Magnesium<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Mg<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity Increases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Aluminium<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Al<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity Increases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Zinc<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Zn<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity Increases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Iron<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Fe<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity Increases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Lead<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Pb<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity Decreases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Hydrogen<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | He<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity Decreases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Copper<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Cu<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity Decreases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Mercury<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Hg<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity Decreases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Silver<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Ag<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity Decreases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Gold<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Au<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Reactivity Decreases<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Platinum<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Pt<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n | Least Reactive<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | Let\u2019s see how different metals are more reactive than others which determines their placement on the reactivity series.<\/p>\n Potassium <\/strong><\/p>\n Potassium is considered a highly reactive metal. Potassium reacts quite violently when exposed to other substances, including water or oxygen. This is why pure potassium is rather difficult to find. Instead, other substances containing potassium can be found. This high reactivity level of Potassium makes it stand on top of the reactivity series.<\/p>\n Sodium <\/strong><\/p>\n Sodium ranks after potassium on the reactivity series list. Sodium is a highly reactive metal which is why it is not easily found in its pure form. Sodium loses its outer shell electron very readily. This makes it a highly reactive metal.<\/p>\n Calcium <\/strong><\/p>\n In its isolated form, Calcium is considered one of the most reactive metals. When exposed to air, calcium tends to be very reactive. It immediately forms a greyish layer of nitrate and oxide. This happens because of the loss of electrons during the chemical reactions, placing calcium on top of the reactivity series.<\/p>\n Magnesium <\/strong><\/p>\n Magnesium readily loses its outer shell electrons when it reacts with other substances; this is why magnesium is considered a highly reactive metal and comes on the top of the reactivity series.<\/p>\n Zinc<\/strong><\/p>\n The valence shell of zinc contains two electrons and zinc readily gives up those electrons during a chemical reaction with other substances. This makes zinc relatively more reactive than other metals such as copper and hydrogen, which lose their electron quite slowly than zinc. This reactivity level of zinc makes it a part of the top one on the reactivity series.<\/p>\n Iron<\/strong><\/p>\n Iron is considered an ordinarily reactive metal. In some situations, iron is highly reactive. For instance, when iron reacts with acids. Whereas in general, iron is relatively less reactive in comparison to sodium and potassium. In this way, iron comes on a rather middle area on the reactivity series.<\/p>\n Hydrogen<\/strong><\/p>\n Although hydrogen has a single electron in its valence shell, it readily loses its electron during a chemical reaction with other substances. In this way, hydrogen is considered relatively more reactive in some conditions and somewhat less in others. For instance, when hydrogen is left to react with oxygen, it readily loses its valence shell electron.<\/p>\n Copper <\/strong><\/p>\n Copper does not lose its electron readily upon reaction with the other compounds; hence it is not considered a highly reactive metal. Based on this relatively less reactive nature, copper is placed below some metals, including iron and hydrogen, on the list of reactivity series.<\/p>\n Silver<\/strong><\/p>\n Silver is quite a less reactive metal because it tends to not lose its electron when exposed to air or water. This is why the reactivity level of silver is quite low. On the list of reactivity series, silver comes on quite a lower level because it is taken in the group of least reactive elements.<\/p>\n Gold<\/strong><\/p>\n Gold is considered the least reactive metal of all. It does not react readily in any given condition, whether with oxygen, water or acid. Gold comes last on the list of reactivity series because of is the least reactive. As a part of the metal reactivity series, certain elements only react with certain substances, while some can react with two or more substances. Here in the below section, we will list out the metals, along with their reactive substances.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |