Lab

Summary

In this lab, students will use the activity series to verify the outcome of a chemical reaction.

Grade Level

High school

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students should be able to

• Predict the products of a reaction on the basis of the activity series.
• Write net ionic equations.

Chemistry Topics

This lesson supports students’ understanding of

• Activity series
• Chemical changes
• Oxidation
• Reduction
• Net ionic equations

Time

Teacher Preparation: 15 minutes

Lesson: 45 minutes

Materials

• CuCl₂
• Balance          
• NaCl
• Aluminum foil           
• Water
• Beaker (2)
• Graduated cylinder

Safety

• Always wear safety goggles when working in a lab.
• Copper(II) chloride is toxic. Wear gloves when handling copper(II) chloride.
• Students should wash their hands thoroughly before leaving the lab.
• When students complete the lab, instruct them how to clean up their materials and dispose of any chemicals.

Teacher Notes

I find this lab helps students understand the purpose of the activity series and how to interpret it.

Downloads

• Teacher Guide.doc
• Teacher Guide.pdf
• Student Activity.doc
  
• Student Activity.pdf
  

Submitted by
Tricia Brown
Goshen Central High
Goshen, New York

Thanks to
Ward’s Science

For the Student

Lesson

Background

Electrochemical reactions are driven by the spontaneous transfer of electrons from more active metals to less active ones.  In this lab you will investigate the electrochemical replacement of aluminum atoms by Cu²⁺ and Na⁺, and use the chemistry of this reaction to draw an image on a small piece of aluminum foil.

Purpose

[students complete themselves]

 Safety

• Always wear safety goggles when working in a lab setting.
• Copper(II) chloride is toxic. Wear gloves when handling copper(II) chloride. When you are finished, dispose of all copper(II) chloride in designated containers.

 Materials

• CuCl₂
• Balance                 
• NaCl
• Aluminum foil        
• Water
• Beaker (2)
• Graduated cylinder

Procedure

1. Mass about 5 g of copper(II) chloride in a small beaker.
2. Add 10 mL of water to beaker.
3. Tear up aluminum foil.
4.  Make observations of the solution and foil.
5. Put aluminum foil into the beaker with copper(II) chloride solution.
6. Observe what happens.
7. Repeat steps 1–5 with sodium chloride.

Results

Analysis

1.         Describe and compare the reaction in each beaker.
2.       From your knowledge of the activity series, explain your results. Make reference to each beaker in this explanation.

For questions 4–7, consider the reaction between copper(II) chloride and aluminum.

4.       Write the general skeleton reaction.
5.       Write the balanced reduction half reaction.
6.       Write the balanced oxidation half reaction.
7.       Write the balanced redox reaction.
8.       Give an example of another metal and/or salt that would result in a reaction.
9.       For the example used in number 8, write the balanced redox equation to show the chemistry that occurred between your choices. Indicate the oxidation states and half reactions.

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