Chemistry Form 4 Experiment 5.1 ⟶

The more reactive metal (magnesium or zinc) acts as the displacer, while the less reactive metal (copper) is displaced. The reactivity series is not just a list—it is a hierarchy of chemical power.

The solution turned from vibrant blue to a pale, cloudy colourless. The reddish-brown solid was pure, elemental copper. Zinc was the hero.

He dropped the ribbon into the final bath of blue. chemistry form 4 experiment 5.1

Lin dropped a small piece of copper wire into the blue liquid. They waited. One minute. Two. The copper sat at the bottom like a sleeping snake. The blue remained blue.

Lin nodded, swirling the last of the pale, colourless solution down the sink. “That’s not war,” she smiled. “That’s displacement. And now we know how to prove who belongs where.” The more reactive metal (magnesium or zinc) acts

“Today,” she had announced, her voice crackling through the lab’s humid air, “you are all forensic chemists. A factory has spilled three different metals—magnesium, zinc, and copper—into a vat of copper(II) sulphate solution. Your job is to determine which metal is the ‘hero’ that reacts, and which are the ‘villains’ that remain inert.”

“Exothermic,” Maya whispered, recording the temperature rise. The magnesium was even more reactive than zinc. It had ripped the copper from the solution with such force that it generated heat. The reddish-brown solid was pure, elemental copper

“Look!” Lin gasped. “The blue is disappearing! And… is that copper metal?”