Question

Explain why zinc metal can displace copper from Copper sulphate solution but copper cannot displace Zinc sulphate solution.

Answer 1

1. The reactivity series of metals is the arrangement of metals in the decreasing order of their tendency to react. A metal with higher reactivity displaces another metal with lower reactivity.
2. The metal zinc (Zn) displaces copper (Cu) from Copper sulphate $\left({\mathrm{CuSO}}_4\right)$ because zinc is more reactive than copper. In contrast, copper is not able to displace zinc from Zinc sulphate $\left({\mathrm{ZnSO}}_4\right)$ because it is less reactive than zinc.