Displacement reactions of metals and other metal compounds
- A metal that is more reactive than another will displace the less reactive metal from its compound. This is because a more reactive metal has a higher tendency to form positive ions than less reactive metals.
- Examples of displacement reactions:
- The displacement chart shows that elements at the top are the most reactive and will always displace the less reactive metals at the bottom.
- Worked Example: Prediction of displacement of sulfates

Sample displacement reactions
- Reaction of iron and copper(II) sulfate solution:
  - As iron is more reactive than copper, it would displace the copper from its compounds. In this reaction, we place an iron nail in copper(II) sulfate solution.
  - After a week, we can see that the solution turns from blue to green (copper(II) sulfate becomes iron(II) sulfate), while the nail grows thicker with red brown sediment (copper metal deposited).
- Reaction between zinc and copper(II) sulfate solution:
  - Zinc is more reactive than copper, so it would displace copper from its compound as well. To show this, we can place a strip of zinc metal in copper(II) sulfate solution.
  - After a week, we observe the blue colour turns transparent as copper ions get displaced and the solution becomes zinc sulfate solution. The displaced copper metal gets deposited on the zinc strip.

In summary:
- The reactivity series measures the tendency of a metal to form its positive ion compared to other metals in their aqueous solution.

9.02 - Displacement Reactions

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