// FIELD GUIDE 06 — LEVEL L2
Metals & the reactivity series
Not all metals want to react equally badly. Line them up from "give me a reaction NOW" to "leave me alone for centuries" and you get the reactivity series — one of chemistry's most useful cheat-sheets.
// FIG. 01 — REACTIVITY LADDER (RANK WITH ▲▼, MOST REACTIVE AT TOP)
{{ m.pos }}
{{ m.sym }}
{{ m.name }}
{{ m.mark }}
// L2 — WHAT "REACTIVE" MEANS HERE
A reactive metal gives up its electrons easily to form compounds — the more eager it is to react with water, acid, or oxygen, the higher it sits. Potassium reacts violently with cold water; gold barely reacts with anything, which is exactly why it's found as itself in nature, not locked in ore.
// L2 — DISPLACEMENT: THE PRACTICAL USE
A more reactive metal can kick a less reactive one out of its compound. Drop iron into copper sulfate solution and the iron steals the sulfate, dumping pure copper out of solution — because iron sits above copper on the ladder. This single rule is how we extract and refine most metals.
// REFERENCES & FURTHER READING
Cross-check against your own exam board's specification (AQA, Edexcel, OCR, SQA).