Question

The following elements are listed in order of decreasing reactivity as they appear in the reactivity series.

$Na,Ca,Mg,Zn,Fe,H,Cu,Hg,Ag,Au$

Of the following, the element that does NOT react with dilute hydrochloric acid to produce hydrogen gas is _______.

• A. $Zn$
• B. $Fe$
• C. $Hg$
• D. $Ca$
• E. $Mg$

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

$Hg$

Hg lies below hydrogen in the reactivity series. Therefore, Hg cannot replace hydrogen from $HCl$ and hydrogen gas is not released.