Activity Series

General Chemistry Index

Where are we going with this? This page will assist in developing the ability to describe, classify, and give examples of various kinds of reactions: synthesis (i.e., combination), decomposition, single displacement, double displacement, acid/base, and combustion.

Activity Series

One chemical property is reactivity. Not all things are equally reactive. Reactivity relates to how vigorously something will react with other things.

There's another characteristic of matter related to how likely something is to react. In an imaginary way, you could think that if you throw some (let's say fluorine) into a bucket and then toss two other things in, which one will react? Whichever one will react is higher on the activity series. While the activity series relates electronegativity, it is not a perfect correlation for the metals.

So, given two different elements, which one is more apt to react? Depending on how readily something will react, we can produce a ranked list.

Activity Series: The reactivity series is a list of metals ranked in order of decreasing order of relative tendency to react. (More)

The following list indicates a simple version of an activity series chart. Elements cannot replace anything ABOVE them in the list below. If such is attempted, there will be no reaction.

The reactivity series follows the order, from most reactive to least reactive:

Metals

Most active or most easily oxidized 

Lithium              Li( s ) → Li 1+ ( aq )  + e – 

Rubidium                Rb  → Rb 1+   +  e –

Potassium         K( s ) → K 1+ ( aq )   + e –

Barium                 Ba( s ) → Ba 2+ ( aq )   + 2e – 

Strontium                Sr

Calcium                 Ca( s ) → Ca 2+ ( aq )  + 2e –

Sodium                 Na( s ) → Na + ( aq )   + e –

Magnesium              Mg( s ) → Mg 2+ ( aq )   + 2e –

Aluminum         Al( s ) → Al 3+ ( aq )   + 3e –

Manganese         Mn (s) → Mn 2+ ( aq )   + 2e –

Zinc                         Zn( s ) → Zn 2+ ( aq )   + 2e –

Chromium         Cr( s ) → Cr 3+ ( aq )   + 3e 

Iron                         Fe( s ) → Fe 2+ ( aq )   + 2e –

Cadmium                 Cd

Cobalt                 Co( s ) → Co 2+ ( aq )   + 2e –  

Nickel                 Ni( s ) → Ni 2+ ( aq )   + 2e –

Tin                         Sn( s ) → Sn 2+ ( aq )   + 2e –

Lead                 Pb( s ) → Pb 2+ ( aq )   + 2e –

Hydrogen         H2 ( g ) → 2H + ( aq )   + 2e –

Antimony                Sb

Arsenic                 As

 

Bismuth                 Bi

Copper                 Cu( s ) → Cu 2+ ( aq )   + 2e –

Tungsten                 W  

*Mercury                 Hg( l ) → Hg 2+ ( aq )   + 2e –            *Some sources swap Hg and Ag (e.g. this)

*Silver                Ag( s ) → Ag + ( aq )   + e –

Palladium               Pd

Platinum                 Pt( s ) → Pt 2+ ( aq )   + 2e –

Gold                 Au( s ) → Au 3+ ( aq )   + 3e –

Least active or most difficult to oxidize

Non-Metals 

Non-metals tend to follow electronegativity with regard to if they will replace another element.

(Most electronegative to least)

Name                        Electronegativity

Fluorine F                             3.98
Chlorine Cl                           3.16

Oxygen O                             3.44
Nitrogen N                            3.04

Bromine Br                           2.96
Iodine I                                 2.66

Sulphur S                              2.58

Selenium Se                          2.55

Carbon C                               2.55
Phosphorus P                        2.19

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A few sources…

https://www.thoughtco.com/activity-series-of-metals-603960

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/cheminter/chapter/chart-activity-series-of-metals/

https://www.sd308.org/cms/lib/IL01906463/Centricity/Domain/2189/Activity%20Series%20Chart.pdf

http://foradorimath.weebly.com/uploads/4/6/3/5/4635110/2a_-_activity_series.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactivity_series#Table

https://www.templateroller.com/template/585124/activity-series-metals-and-non-metals-cheat-sheet.html

Comments:

There seems to be, in various sources, some different rankings, frequently putting Lithium further down the list.