Observing the action of zinc, iron, copper and aluminium metals for the given salt solutions. (Experiments-06)

Observing the action of zinc, iron, copper and aluminium metals for the given salt solutions. (Experiments-06)?

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Experiment – 06

Aim:

1. Observe the action of Zn, Fe, Cu and Al metals for the given salt solutions.
   1. Zinc sulphate (ZnSO₄)
   1. Copper sulphate (CuSO₄)
   1. Ferrous sulphate (FeSO₄)
   1. Aluminium sulphate
2. Arranging the metals Zinc, Copper, Iron, and Aluminium in the decreasing order of reactivity based on the results obtained from the above.

Materials required:

1. Aluminium foil and Aluminium sulphate solution
2. Zinc granules and Zinc sulphate solution
3. Copper turnings and Copper sulphate solution
4. Iron filings and Ferrous sulphate solution
5. Four 50ml beakers
6. Test tube and Test tube stand

Theory:

What is reactivity series?

Different metals have different reactivity with chemical reagents. The reactivity series is a series of metals, in order of reactivity from highest to lowest.

Metals	Metal Ion	Reactivity
K	K+	reacts with water
Na	Na+	reacts with water
Li	Li+	reacts with water
Ca	Ca2+	reacts with water
Mg	Mg2+	reacts with acids
Al	Al3+	reacts with acids
Mn	Mn2+	reacts with acids
Zn	Zn2+	reacts with acids
Cr	Cr2+	reacts with acids
Fe	Fe2+	reacts with acids
H2	H+	included for comparison
Cu	Cu2+	highly unreactive
Hg	Hg2+	highly unreactive
Ag	Ag+	highly unreactive
Au	Au3+	highly unreactive
Pt	Pt+	highly unreactive

Experimental Setup:

Procedure:

1. Wash four beakers with distilled water, dry them and label them A, B, C, D.
2. Prepare 50 ml solution with 5% concentration by volume of ferrous sulphate, aluminium sulphate, copper sulphate, zinc sulphate.
3. Pour Zinc sulphate, Ferrous sulphate, cupper sulphate and aluminium sulphate in A, B, C, D beaker respectively.
4. Take metal strips of aluminium (Al), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn).
5. Now dip one of the four metal strips in all the four test tubes and observe if any colour change occurs in all four test tubes.
6. Continue step 5 with other metal strips by dipping in fresh aqueous solutions of metals and see the displacement reaction.

Observation:

Metal	Dipped in	Observation
Al	ZnSO4	No change in the solution. Zinc metal which is greyish accumulates on Aluminium metal.
Al	CuSO4	Blue solution becomes colourless. Copper metal which appears reddish brown gets accumulated.
Al	Al2(SO4)3	No reaction.
Al	FeSO4	Green solution becomes colourless. Iron metal which appears greyish black gets accumulated.
Fe	ZnSO4	No reaction.
Fe	CuSO4	Solution becomes light green. Copper metal which appears reddish brown gets accumulated.
Fe	Al2(SO4)3	No reaction.
Fe	FeSO4	No reaction.
Zn	ZnSO4	No reaction.
Zn	CuSO4	Blue solution turns colourless. Reddish brown coppers accumulates on zinc metal.
Zn	Al2(SO4)3	No reaction.
Zn	FeSO4	Light green solution turns colourless. Greyish black iron accumulates on zinc metal.
Cu	ZnSO4	No reaction.
Cu	CuSO4	No reaction.
Cu	Al2(SO4)3	No reaction.
Cu	FeSO4	No reaction.

Result:

Metals	Inference
Aluminium	Aluminium displaces zinc, copper, and iron from their solutions. Aluminium is the most reactive metal.
Zinc	Zinc displaces copper, and iron from their solutions. Zinc is more reactive than Cu and Fe metal.
Iron	Iron displaces copper from its solution. Therefore, copper is less reactive than iron.
Copper	Copper does not displace any metal therefore it is the least reactive.

2. The decreasing order of reactivity of metals is as follows:

Al>Zn>Fe>Cu

Precautions:

• Use cleanly washed and dried apparatus for the experiment.
• You can clean all metals with sandpaper.
• Use small quantities of salt solution of given metals.

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Observing the action of zinc, iron, copper and aluminium metals for the given salt solutions. (Experiments-06)?

List of Experiments :

Experiment -01 To determine the pH of the given samples using pH paper or universal indicator. The samples whose pH has to be determined are-

Experiment -02: How can you explain plants can respire and release carbon dioxide?

Experiment -03 To study about (a) Binary Fission in amoeba and (b) Budding in yeast with the help of prepared slides.

Experiment -04 To study the dependence of potential difference (V) across a resistor on the current (I) passing through it and determine its resistance.

Experiment – 05 Types of Reactions

Experiment – 06 : Observing the action of zinc, iron, copper and aluminium metals for the given salt solutions.