Description
Grades 9–12. Why is the Statue of Liberty made of copper? Why do ships have magnesium blocks attached to their hulls? Students answer these questions and more as they discover the relative reactivities of metals. Students react metal strips of copper, iron, magnesium, and zinc with solutions of their salts and create a metal activity series based on the results of these single-replacement reactions. The experiment provides valuable practice writing and balancing chemical equations. Use the versatile student lab kit to teach a variety of concepts, such as molecular versus net ionic equations and oxidation-reduction reactions. Materials are sufficient for 30 students working in pairs.