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Metal Reactivity
Metals display a wide range of reactivity with other substances, varying from very reactive to no reaction at all. Question: Why is knowing the reactivity of a metal useful to us? The other substances that most influence the choice of metal for a particular purpose are oxygen, water and acids. The order of metal reactivity is called the activity series of metals.
Metal + Oxygen
Metal oxide
Step 1: Write the word equation Iron + oxygen Step 2: Write the forumla Fe + O2
Iron oxide
Fe 2O 3
Where do the subscripts come from?
Step 3: Balance the equation 4Fe + 3O2 Step 4: Add states 4Fe (s) + 3O2 (g)
2Fe2O3
2Fe2O3 (s)
Most metals undergo no change when placed in cold water. Some exceptions to this are: lithium, potassium, sodium, calcium. These react with cold water to form hydrogen and a metal hydroxide.
sodium hydroxide + hydrogen
Sodium + water
This reaction involves the transfer of electrons from sodium atoms to hydrogen atoms in the water.
+ H2
Some less reactive metals (Al, Zn, Fe) will NOT react with cold water but will react with steam to produce steam to produce hydrogen and a metal oxide.
zinc oxide + hydrogen
Zinc + steam
Some metals will react with acids to produce salt and hydrogen.
Metal + acid salt + hydrogen
During the reaction between a metal and an acid the metal loses electrons and becomes positively charge ions. Hydrogen ions from the acid gain electrons to form hydrogen gas.
zinc + chloride
hydrogen
A common feature
A common feature of all reactions of metals with oxygen, water and dilute acids is that atoms of the metals lose electrons to become positive ions. Reactions with oxygen: ionic oxides are formed MgO = ionic compound containing Mg 2+ and O 2
Reactions with water: ionic hydroxides are formed LiOH = ionic compound containing Li+ and H-
A common feature
Reactions with acids: ionic metallic chlorides and sulfates are formed
FeSo4 = ionic compound containing Fe2+ and SO42MgCl2 = ionic compound containing Mg2+ and Cl22-
Ionic equations
Zn (s) + 2HCl (aq)
Species of the reactants are? Zn atoms, H+ ions and Cl- ions Species of the products are? Zn 2+ ions, H2 molecules and Cl- ions
there are two Cl- ions on the right and two on the left. Zn atoms have changed to Zn 2+ ions. For this to happen zinc atoms must have given up 2 electrons. We can write this as:
Zn Zn 2+ + 2eHydrogen ions have changed to hydrogen ions have changed to hydrogen molecules. Therefore each hydrogen ion must have gained one electron. 2H+ + 2eH2
Notice that this reaction is really between Zn and H because they are the only species that undergo a change. A net ionic equation only shows the ionic species that undergo a CHANGE in the reaction.
Zn 2+ (aq) + H2 (g)
Spectator ions
the Cl- ions do not undergo a chemical change: there are two Cl- ions on the right and two Cl- ions on the left. Ions that do not undergo a chemical change during the reaction are called spectator ions
Step 4: Add states 2Al (s) + 6HCl (aq) 2AlCl3 (aq) + 3H2 (g)
Step 5: Determine the species of the reactants and products Reactants: Al atoms, H+ ions and Cl- ions Products: Al 3+ atoms, H2 molecules and Cl- ions
Step 6: write the complete ionic equation
Step 7: Write the net ionic equation 2Al (s) + 6H+ (aq) 2Al 3+ (aq) + 3H2 (g)
Ionisation energy
The reactivity of a metal is related to the ease with which it loses valence electrons to form ions. Ionisation energy is a measure of the energy needed to remove the most loosely bound electron from an atom in the gaseous state.
In general reactive metals have low ionisation energies and less reactive metals have high ionisation energies
Reactions which involve the transfer of electrons are called oxidation-reduction reactions. When an atom LOSES one or more electrons we say it has been oxidised. When an atom GAINS one or more electrons we say it has been reduced.
OXIDATION = LOSS OF ELECTRONS REDUCTION = GAIN OF ELECTRONS
In normal chemical reactions there can be no overall loss or gain of electrons. Hence oxidation and reduction occur simultaneously.
We call these reactions REDOX reactions. Half equations can be used to describe the oxidation and reduction processes separately in terms of electrons lost or gained.
Half equations
Oxidation: Reduction:
Isotopes
Most elements in nature consist of several isotopes with slightly different masses. This is because isotopes have a different number of neutrons in the nucleus.
Example: 75% of Cl atoms have 18 neutrons 25% of Cl atoms have 20 neutrons There are two isotopes of Cl one with an atomic mass of 35 (Cl-35) and one with an atomic mass of 38 (Cl-37). Remember all Cl atoms have 17 protons.
Isotopes
Therefore strictly speaking when we say the mass of an atom we actually mean the average mass of the atoms in the naturally occurring element.
Average mass = 75 x 35 + 25 x 37 = 35.5 100 Note: average mass is closest to the atomic mass of the most abundant isotope
The mole
Chemists measure the amount of any substance in moles.
Mole: the quantity or amount of a substance that contains the same number of particles as there are atoms in exactly 12 grams of carbon-12 Avogadros number (NA): the number of atoms in exactly 12 grams of carbon-12 = 6.022 x 1023 Therefore one mole of a substance contains 6.022 x 1023 particles of that substance.
Molar mass
6.022 x 1023 atoms of carbon has a mass of 12 grams
Since all relative atomic masses are measured against the standard carbon 12 it follows that the atomic mass in grams of an element (or the formula mass in grams of any compound) is one mole of that substance and this one mole contains avogadros number of particles.
Consider: Titanium (atomic mass 48) 1 mole of titanium has 6.022 x 1023 atoms (each of which have a mass 4x that of carbon) Therefore mass of 1 mole of titanium = 4x12 =48
1 mole of titanium has a mass equal to its relative atomic mass.
Molar mass
1 mole of a substance has a mass equal to its:
relative atomic mass (expressed in grams) relative molecular mass (expressed in grams) relative formula mass (expressed in grams)
This is called the molar mass (M) of a substance. Molar mass has units usually grams per mole (g mol -1).
Write down the symbol or formula of the substance Add up the relative atomic masses of the elements involved This is the symbol mass or formula mass In grams this is one mole of the substance This is made of avogadros number of particles
Summary
There are therefore two ways of looking at a mole:
A number of particles (atoms, ions, molecules) 6.022 x 1023 A mass (the relative atomic, molecular or formula mass in grams)
MOLE
1 mole of Ti
= 48 grams of Ti
Number of moles of a substance from the number of particles or basic units of a substance Number of particles or basic units of a substance (atoms, formula units) from the number of moles
n= m M
Number of moles of any substance in a given mass Mass of a substance in a given number of moles
Summary
n=
n=
m M
N 6.022 x 1023
Therefore:
N 6.022 x 1023
m M
Percentage composition
Percentage composition of a compound is simply the percentage by mass of each element present in the compound.
To determine percentage composition you need two things : formula of the compound Relative atomic masses of the elements present
Step 3:
Summary
Therefore:
% A in a compound = mass of A in 1 mole of the compound x 100 mass of 1 mole of the compound
Molecular formula: specifies the actual number of atoms of each element in a molecule hydrogen peroxide: H2O2 Empirical formula: specifies the simplest whole number ratio of each element hydrogen peroxide: HO
Step 1: List the elements and the mass of each element in 100grams of freon-12
Element: Mass in 100g: C 40 H 6.6 O 53.3
Step 2: Determine the moles of each element in 100 grams n=m 40 6.6 53.3
M 12.01 = 3.33 1 : 1.008 = 6.55 2 : 16.00 = 3.33 1
Mole ratio
Joseph Gay-Lussac
Gay Lussacs law of combining gas volumes states that when two gaseous elements combine: the ratios of the volumes of gases involved, if measured at the same temperature and pressure, are expressed by small whole numbers
Example: calculate the volume of hydrogen that will combine with 6 L of nitrogen to form ammonia
Step 1: write the balanced equation for the reaction N2 (g) + 3H2 (g) 2NH3 (g)
Step 2: determine the ratios 1 mole N2 1 volume 3 mole H2 3 volume V (H2 ) 2 mole NH3 2 volume = 3 x V(N2) = 3 x 6.0L = 18 L
Mass-mass calculations
Chemical equations show the number of moles of reactants and products in a chemical reaction. They can also be used to determine the relationship between the masses of the reactants and products:
N2 (g) 1 mole 28g + + 3H2 (g) 3 mole 6g 2NH3 (g) 2 mole 34g
Remember this!
When carrying out mass-mass calculations remember the following step by step method:
From the equation
N = m/N
N = m/N