Activity Series
Chemistry MYP
Ms. Khan and side kick Liana Chowdhury
Activity Series
▪ activity series: a list of elements organized according to the
ease with which the elements undergo certain chemical
reactions
▪ typically determined by single replacement reactions
– used to predict if a reaction will occur or not
– a more reactive element will replace a less reactive
element in a compound
Activity Series of Metals
most reactive
lithium
sodium
zinc
iron
nickel
gold
least reactive
Li1+
Na1+
Zn2+
Fe2+
Ni2+
Au3+
▪ charge of ion formed (if
reaction occurs) is indicated
▪ lithium will replace all other
elements in a compound
▪ zinc will replace iron,
nickel, gold but will not
replace lithium or sodium
▪ gold will not replace any
elements in a compound
Activity Series of Metals
▪ examples:
1 Li
+ 1 NaCl → 1 Na + 1 LiCl
_ Fe + _ Li2O → no reaction
3 Ni + 2 Au(NO3)3 → 2 Au + 3 Ni(NO3)2
_ Au + _ ZnSO4 → no reaction
1 Zn + 1 Fe(OH)2 → 1 Fe + 1 Zn(OH)2