Single Replacement Lab: Conclusion Questions Vaidehi Phirke To summarize the observations from the lab, many of the outcomes were similar in appearance, but different in their products’ chemical compositions. Of the reactions in which solid magnesium was added into the various solutions, 4 (which included copper (II) sulfate, lead (II) nitrate, silver nitrate, and zinc sulfate as reactants) of the total 5 that occurred resulted in the seeming disintegration of the solid magnesium into black flakes (color change) and the other one (which included sulfuric acid as a reactant) resulted in furious bubbling and fizzing (gas production). Of the reactions in which solid copper was added into the various solutions, only one reaction was observed (in which silver nitrate was a reactant) and it resulted in the blackening (color change) and flaking off of …show more content…
Of the reactions in which solid lead was added into the various solutions, 2 (which included copper (II) sulfate and silver nitrate as reactants) of the total 3 that were observed resulted in the almost disintegration of the solid zinc into black flakes (color change) and the other one (which included sulfuric acid as a …show more content…
The main purpose for the use of copper instead of the other metals is that copper is lower on the activity series as compared to hydrogen. This is significant because a water molecule is composed of a hydrogen cation and hydroxide. Because copper is lower than hydrogen on the activity series, the copper and hydrogen cation do not undergo a single replacement reaction. This is why copper does not corrode in the presence of neutral water. However, magnesium and zinc do corrode being immersed in water for long periods of time, because both of them are higher than hydrogen on the Activity Series. For this reason, they cannot be used in