Question

What is the activity series of metals ?

Answer 1

An activity series is a list of substances ranked in order of relative reactivity. For example, magnesium metal can knock hydrogen ions out of solution, so it is considered more reactive than elemental hydrogen. The activity series is a useful guide for predicting the products of metal displacement reactions. For example, placing a strip of zinc metal in a copper(II) sulphate solution will produce metallic copper and zinc sulphate, since zinc is above copper in the series. A strip of copper placed into a zinc sulphate solution will not produce an appreciable reaction because copper is below zinc in the series and can't displace zinc ions from solution.