Question

Compose an activity to arrange Ca, Mg and Fe metals in the decreasing order of reactivity with water. Write suitably balanced chemical equation and draw diagrams.

Answer 1

Take some metals like Ca, Mg and Fe etc. Place separately small pieces of these metals in beakers with small amount of water in them. If the metals react with the cold water, then the reaction is vigorous. If metal does not react with cold water, then treat it with hot water. Record the observations and arrange the metals in decreasing order of reactivity.

Metal	Reaction	Observation	Chemical reaction
Fe	Steam	Fe3O4 and H2(g)	3Fe(s) + 4H2O(g) → Fe3O4(s) + H2(g)
Mg	Hot water	Mg(OH)2(aq) & H2(g)	Mg(s) + 2H2O(hot) → Mg(OH)2(aq) + H2(g)
Ca	Cold water	Mg(oH)r(c{) & Hzk)	Ca(s) + 2H2O(l) →  Ca(OH)2(aq) + H2(g)