The Reactivity Series — The Reactivity Series | IGCSE Chemistry | Examo

The Reactivity Series — The Reactivity Series | IGCSE Chemistry | Examo

Exam Frequency Analysis

Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)

This topic accounts for approximately 6% of your exam marks.

stable

Low

Stable6%

Displacement reactions and determining order of reactivity from experimental data.

Standard order

Comparing reactions with water, acids, oxygen, and other metals lets chemists rank the metals from most reactive at the top to least reactive at the bottom

Position	Metal	Reaction with cold water	Reaction with acid	Reaction with oxygen
Most reactive	Potassium, K	Violent	(Too dangerous)	Burns easily, lilac flame
↑	Sodium, Na	Vigorous	(Too dangerous)	Burns, yellow-orange flame
↑	Lithium, Li	Steady	(Too dangerous)	Burns, red flame
↑	Calcium, Ca	Brisk	Vigorous	Burns, brick-red flame
↑	Magnesium, Mg	Very slow; fast with steam	Brisk	Burns with intense white flame
↑	Aluminium, Al	None (protective oxide layer)	Slow	Forms an oxide film
↑	Carbon, C	— (non-metal reference)	—	Burns; reduces some metal oxides
↑	Zinc, Zn	Slow with steam	Moderate	Burns, blue-green flame
↑	Iron, Fe	Slow with steam	Slow	Rusts in moist air
↑	Hydrogen, H	— (non-metal reference)	—	Burns to form water
↑	Copper, Cu	None	None	Surface darkens on strong heating
↑	Silver, Ag	None	None	None at normal temperatures
Least reactive	Gold, Au	None	None	None

Carbon and hydrogen are not metals but are placed in the series as reference points
Carbon's position matters for industry: any metal below carbon (Zn, Fe, Cu, etc.) can be extracted from its oxide by heating with carbon, while metals above carbon (Al, Mg and higher) cannot — they must be extracted by electrolysis
Hydrogen's position matters for acids: only metals above hydrogen react with dilute acid to release hydrogen gas