Metal and acid (AQA GCSE Chemistry: Combined Science)

• Only metals above hydrogen in the reactivity series will react with dilute acids
  • Therefore copper can not react with acids
• The more reactive the metal then the more vigorous the reaction will be
• Metals that are placed high on the reactivity series such as potassium and sodium are very dangerous and react explosively with acids
• When acids react with metals they form a salt and hydrogen gas:
• The general equation is:

metal + acid ⟶ salt + hydrogen

• Some examples of metal-acid reactions and their equations are given below:

Table of acid-metal reactions

Metal	Sulfuric acid	Hydrochloric acid
Magnesium	Mg (s) + H2SO4 (aq) → MgSO4 (aq) + H2 (g)	Mg (s) + 2HCl (aq) → MgCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)
Zinc	Zn (s) + H2SO4 (aq) → ZnSO4 (aq) + H2 (g)	Zn (s) + 2HCl (aq) → ZnCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)
Iron	Fe (s) + H2SO4 (aq) → FeSO4 (aq) + H2 (g)	Fe (s) + 2HCl (aq) → FeCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)