Question

Some experiments were carried out to place the metals copper, nickel, and silver in reactivity series order. What is the correct order of these metals in the reactivity series?

1) Copper, Nickel, Silver
2) Nickel, Copper, Silver
3) Silver, Copper, Nickel
4) Silver, Nickel, Copper

Answer 1

The correct order of the metals copper, nickel, and silver in the reactivity series is Nickel, Copper, Silver. This order reflects their reactivity, where nickel is more reactive than copper and copper is more reactive than silver.

Step-by-step explanation:

The reactivity series of metals helps us to understand the relative reactivity of different metals. This series is crucial for predicting the outcomes of single-replacement reactions. In such reactions, a more reactive metal can replace a less reactive metal from its compound. For instance, when copper is placed in a solution of silver nitrate, copper replaces silver because it is higher in the activity series. The correct order of the metals copper, nickel, and silver in terms of reactivity is: Nickel, Copper, Silver.

Nickel is more reactive than copper, and copper is more reactive than silver. This means that nickel can displace copper and silver from their solutions, while copper can only displace silver, not nickel. Based on the activity series, the answer to the student's question about the order of reactivity would be option 2) Nickel, Copper, Silver.