Reactivity of Metals
Ever wondered why some metals rust faster than others or why gold stays shiny for centuries? It's all about reactivity - how eagerly a metal wants to lose electrons and form positive ions.
The reactivity series ranks metals from most to least reactive. Metals like potassium, sodium, and calcium sit at the top because they lose electrons really easily. Gold and platinum hang out at the bottom, barely reacting with anything.
When metals meet acids, they follow a simple pattern: ACID + METAL → SALT + HYDROGEN. You can actually see how reactive a metal is by watching how fast the hydrogen bubbles form. Potassium reacts explosively (don't try this at home!), whilst copper barely bothers to react with cold, dilute acids.
Metal extraction depends entirely on where a metal sits in this series. If it's below carbon (like zinc or iron), we can use carbon to extract it cheaply. Metals above carbon need expensive electrolysis to extract them - that's why aluminium used to be more valuable than gold!
Quick Tip: Remember OIL RIG - Oxidation Is Loss (of electrons), Reduction Is Gain (of electrons). This helps you identify what's happening in metal reactions.