Which metals are unreactive

This is illustrated by the animation below apologies for the wobbly nature of the timelapse photography here. Iron and copper with 2M HCl for 1 week. Thus, copper can be described as being relatively unreactive in this reaction with 2M hydrochloric acid, but it does react slowly.

Can you suggest any metals which would not react with 2M hydrochloric acid? The answer to the third quiz question was neutralisation. You are commenting using your WordPress.

You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. The predicted hazards and gas byproducts for each reactive group pair will be displayed, as well as documentation and references that were used to make the reactivity predictions. Description Flammability. Not reactive enough to burn in air, even if finely divided. Metals in this group can react exothermically with oxidizing acids to form noxious gases.

When metals react with other substances, the metal atoms always form positive ions. The easier it is for a metal to form its positive ion, the more reactive the metal is. Metals can be arranged in order of their reactivity. These are called native metals.

A more reactive metal one that forms positive ions more easily can displace a less reactive metal from a compound. For those metals that could be extracted with carbon, but form carbides, a range of different extraction methods can be used. Titanium has a high strength to weight ratio, and has important uses in the aerospace industry. This can then be reacted with a more reactive metal, such as sodium or magnesium, to produce titanium.

Another metal, tungsten, forms a carbide which can actually be of use, as it is extremely hard. Tungsten carbide finds use in drill bits as a result of its hardness. To extract tungsten from its ore without forming the carbide, hydrogen is reacted with tungsten oxide at a high temperature, displacing the metal.

Instead, a different method altogether is used. This method, electrolysis, involves passing an electric current through the molten metal ore. This decomposes the ore, splitting it into its component elements, and allowing the metal to be extracted. There are also some caveats to the reaction statements; for example, aluminium will react slowly with water if the thin aluminium oxide layer that prevents it from reacting is damaged.

However, despite this, hopefully it still functions as a well-rounded introduction to the reactivity series and some reactions that can be used to evidence it. Want to share it elsewhere?