so I don't expect you to answer all of these I just don't understand how they work so if someone could just explain one or two so I can do the rest that would be helpful! Thanks!
Use the activity series to predict whether the following reaction will occur. Enter the products in the balanced reaction (as chemical symbols). Where no reaction will occur enter "no reaction" as the product.:
a) Zn + H2SO4
b) 2 AlI3 + 3 Cl2
b) Mg + 2 AgNO3
c) 2 Al + 3 CoSO4
All of these are single replacement reactions IF they occur. The secret to knowing i they occur is to use the activity series as the prelude in the question suggests. If you don't have a copy of the activity series you can see one at this link.
http://www.files.chem.vt.edu/RVGS/ACT/notes/activity_series.html
If the free metal is ABOVE the metal ion in the compound, the reaction will occur. If the free metal is not above the metal ion in the compound there will not be a reaction. It's that simple.;
For example, Zn is ABOVE H^+ (in H2SO4--I know H isn't a metal but it's the positive ion being replaced); therefore, the reaction will proceed as follows:
Zn + H2SO4 ==> ZnSO4 + H2
Mg is ABOVE Ag in the activity series; a reaction will occur.
Mg + 2AgNO3 ==> Mg(NO3)2 + 2Ag
A couple of other examples.
Cu + AgNO3 ==> ?
Cu is ABOVE Ag; therefore, the reaction is Cu + 2AgNO3 ==> Cu(NO3)2 + 2Ag
and
Ag + Cu(NO3)2 ==> No Reaction BECAUSE Ag is BELOW Cu in the activity series.
Sure! I can explain one of the reactions for you. Let's take the first one:
a) Zn + H2SO4
To predict whether a reaction will occur or not, you can use the activity series. The activity series is a list of metals arranged in order of their reactivity.
In this reaction, we have zinc (Zn) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Zinc is a metal, and sulfuric acid is an acid.
To determine whether a reaction will occur, we need to compare the reactivity of the metal (zinc) with hydrogen (H) in the acid. If zinc is more reactive than hydrogen, it will displace hydrogen from the acid, and a reaction will occur. If zinc is less reactive than hydrogen, no reaction will occur.
Looking at the activity series, zinc is higher than hydrogen, indicating that it is more reactive. Therefore, zinc will displace hydrogen in the reaction, and the products will be zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) and hydrogen gas (H2).
So, the balanced reaction for a) Zn + H2SO4 would be:
Zn + H2SO4 → ZnSO4 + H2
I hope this explanation helps! If you have any more questions or need further explanations, feel free to ask.