Chapter 10 - Metals

Chap 10: Metals
The physical properties of any substance are determined by the way its particles are arranged or
packed. In a metal, atoms are packed tightly in layers and are held together by strong metallic
bonds. Due to these strong metallic bonds, metals usually have high densities, melting points and
boiling points. Due to the packing in regular layers, it is easy for the layers of atoms to slide over
each other when force is applied. This makes metals soft, ductile and malleable. The structure of
metals can also be described as positive metal ions surrounded by a sea of mobile electrons. The
mobile electrons allow metals to conduct electricity when they are connected to an electric
source. This also makes them good conductors of electricity.
Alloys:
Pure metals have many useful properties, but they are not widely used due to their softness and
high reactiveness. Most metallic substances used nowadays are alloys.
An alloy is a mixture of a metal with one or a few other elements. For example, bronze is an alloy
of copper and tin, brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, and steel is an alloy of iron, chromium,
nickel, and carbon.
Alloys are made by mixing the molten elements in the right proportions and then allowing them
to solidify. The alloys produced have more useful physical properties than the pure metals, such
as:
● Alloys are generally harder and stronger than their constituents. This is because when a
pure metal is alloyed, a different metal is added to the pure metal. Atoms of the added
element have a different size than those of the pure metal. This breaks up the regular
arrangement of atoms in the pure metal, making the sliding of layers over each other
difficult. Therefore alloys are harder and less malleable.
● Alloying can also be used to improve the appearance of metals.
● Alloys are also more resistant to corrosion than pure metals.
● Alloying is used to lower the melting points of metals.
The Reactivity Series:

Metals not only have same physical properties, they also undergo many similar chemical
reactions. However, one metal may react more or less vigorously with a substance than another
metal. The metal that reacts more vigorously is said to be more reactive than the other metal.
In the reactivity series, the metals are arranged in order of decreasing reactivity, i.e. at the top is
the most reactive and at the bottom is the least reactive. The reactivity series is as follows:
Potassium (K)
Sodium (Na)
Calcium (Ca)
Magnesium (Mg)
Aluminium (Al)
Carbon (C)
Zinc (Zn)
Iron (Fe)
Tin (Sn)
Lead (Pb)
Hydrogen (H)
Copper (Cu)
Mercury (Hg)
Silver (Ag)
Gold (Au)
Platinum (Pt)
Note how I included non-metals like hydrogen and carbon in the series. You will learn why later.
You should learn this reactivity series as it is. It is essential to know it during the paper,
especially when dealing with reactions of metals, and displacements. Let us learn more about
these.
Reactions:
Metals with acids:

Many metals react with dilute acids to produce a salt and hydrogen. For example,
Mg (s) + HCl (aq) MgCl + H2

In the above reaction, the salt magnesium chloride is formed. In all reactions of
metals with hydrochloric acid, a metal chloride and hydrogen gas are formed.
Note how I say ‘many’ metals react with dilute acid, not all. Only metals that are more reactive
than hydrogen react with dilute acids to produce hydrogen gas. Metals like copper and silver will
not react with the acids.
Decomposition:
The more reactive a metal is, the more difficult it is to decompose its oxides, i.e. reduce the oxide
to the metal.
Oxides of copper, as well as oxides of those metals above copper in the reactivity series, will
need the help of reducing agents such as carbon, along with the heat required for decomposition,
to turn them into their respective metal oxides. Below copper, there is no need for the reducing
agent, for the oxides of those metals simply decompose on heating. However, metal oxides of
magnesium, which is a highly reactive metal, will not decompose on heating, even in the
presence of a reducing agent. Same goes for the oxides of metals above magnesium in the
reactivity series.
Other than carbon, hydrogen is also at times used as a reducing agent during decomposition.
However, it only reduces the oxides of iron and the metals below it in the reactivity series, while
the oxides of metals more reactive than iron will stay unreacted.
Let us now learn why some metals react while others don’t.
The Displacement Reactions of Metals:
More reactive metals can displace less reactive metals from their salt solutions, oxides, etc. for
example, solid iron displaces copper ions from a solution of copper (II) sulphate. Due to the
action of iron, copper metal is precipitated out of the solution as a pink solid.
In other words, atoms of the more reactive metal become ions and form compounds while ions of
the less reactive metal change back to atoms.
We see this behavior of metals in the reactions I told u about before this, too. In the reaction of
metal with acids, only the more reactive ones were able to displace hydrogen and form a salt,
while the less reactive metals like copper stayed unreacted.
In the decomposition reaction, we needed the reducing agent for more reactive metals. But metals
that were more reactive than carbon stayed unreacted even when the reducing agent carbon was
present. In case of the reducing agent hydrogen, it could not displace those that were more
reactive, so the metal oxides of metals more reactive than hydrogen stayed as they were, and the
reaction did not alter them.
For oxides of very reactive metals that do not get displaced and cannot be obtained as only the
metal through combustion, a process called electrolysis is used. You will learn more about
electrolysis in the next chapter.

Chapter 10 - Metals

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Chapter 10 - Metals

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Chap 10: Metals

The Reactivity Series:

Metals with acids:

Mg (s) + HCl (aq) MgCl + H2

The Displacement Reactions of Metals:

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