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Reactivity refers to the ease with which a chemical substance takes part in a chemical reaction. Different metals show varying levels of reactivity, and these differences can be observed through their reactions with water, acids, and other metal salt solutions.
The reactivity series of metals is an order of reactivity, giving the most reactive metal first, based on results from a range of experiments involving metals reacting with oxygen, water, dilute hydrochloric acid, and metal salt solutions.
Early civilisations used metals that could be found 'native' (such as gold) for decorative items and developed alloys such as bronze. Observable differences in the reactivity of different metals, such as the corrosion resistance of gold and silver compared to iron, suggested that there is a natural order of reactivity among metals.
The complete reactivity series arranges metals in order of decreasing reactivity:
| Position | Element | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Most reactive) | Potassium (K) | Metal |
| 2 | Sodium (Na) | Metal |
| 3 | Calcium (Ca) | Metal |
| 4 | Magnesium (Mg) | Metal |
| 5 | Aluminium (Al) | Metal |
| 6 | Carbon (C) | Non-metal |
| 7 | Zinc (Zn) | Metal |
| 8 | Iron (Fe) | Metal |
| 9 | Hydrogen (H) | Non-metal |
| 10 | Copper (Cu) | Metal |
| 11 | Silver (Ag) | Metal |
| 12 (Least reactive) | Gold (Au) | Metal |
Key Point: Carbon and hydrogen are included in the reactivity series because they are used to extract metals from their oxides. Carbon is placed between aluminium and zinc because it can reduce zinc oxide to form zinc but cannot reduce aluminium oxide.
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