Coursework.Info - Inspiration in an Instant

On the left is an image preview of every page of this document, and below are the first 150 words with formatting removed:

Making an electric cell The zinc turns out to be the negative electrode (the black lead) as it is the more reactive of the two metals. You can check the order of reactivity in the reactivity series. Remember that metals react by losing electrons and turning into positive ions. It follows that a more reactive metal will lose electrons more readily than a less reactive one, and consequently be the negative electrode of the pair. Background The differing reactivities of metals When metals react, they give away electrons and form positive ions. This particular topic sets about comparing the ease with which a metal does this to form hydrated ions in solution - for example, Mg2+(aq) or Cu2+(aq). We might want to compare the ease with which these two changes take place: Everybody who has done chemistry for more than a few months knows that magnesium is more reactive than copper. The first reaction happens much...

To see the full version of this document, and 145,841 others