Sophia Lino

Science Lab 8D
Science Lab Reactivity of Hydrochloric
Acid in Metals
Aim: To determine the reactivity of four different metals: copper, zinc, iron and magnesium
when combined with hydrochloric acid.
Hypothesis: Magnesium is more reactive than zinc, iron and copper because it is in the highest
reactivity series compared to all the other elements (College of DuPage). Another reason is it is
in the high level, like hydrogen, so magnesium and hydrogen would react the most.
Variables:
Independent: Magnesium, Zinc, Iron and Copper
Dependant: The reactivity of the metals
Constant: Acid concentration and the volume and time of the reaction to run.
Materials:
1. Copper 0.26g
2. Aluminium 0.14g
3. Zinc 0.77g
4. Magnesium 0.05g
5. Hydrochloric Acid 12mL
6. Test Tubes x5
7. Tweezers
8. Measuring Beaker
9. Electronic Balance
10. Test Tube Rack
11. Tissue Paper
Diagram:


Al Mg
Metals
Hydrochloric
Acidhloric
Acid
Sophia Lino
Science Lab 8D
Method:
1. First, set up the test tubes. Then add 3mL of hydrochloric acid to each test tube.
2. Weigh all the metals with an electronic balance. We got:
Copper-0.26g
Zinc-0.77g
Aluminum-0.14g
Magnesium-0.05g
3. Add each metal in a test tube for 10 minutes.
4. Record the changes you see. E.g. change of colour, bubbling, etc.
5. After 10 minutes, take each of the metals out of the test tubes with hydrochloric acid
and dry them thoroughly (but carefully) with a tissue.
6. Then weigh them on the electronic balance again.
7. There should be a loss in weight.
8. Record the new weight.
Results:

Graph 1: Reactivity of metals, measured as the percentage decrease in mass when reacted with
hydrochloric acid.

Metals

Start Mass
(g)

End Mass
(g)

Change in Mass
(g)

Percentage Lost
(%)
Magnesium
(Mg)

0.05

0.02

0.03

60%
Aluminium
(Al)

0.14

0.13

0.01

7.14%
Zinc
(Zn)

0.77

0.74

0.03

3.9%
Copper
(Cu)

0.26

0.24

0.02

2%


Sophia Lino
Science Lab 8D
Observation:
Zn: Zinc did not change drastically. There was a little bit of bubbling and a colour change
in the acid. Then when we took out the zinc we saw some colour change in it. It turned
darker.
Mg: The Magnesium was by far the most reactive. There was a lot of bubbling and colour
change in the hydrochloric acid. There was also a colour change in the magnesium itself.
It got a little lighter and it also got slightly softer.
Al: Aluminium had no drastic changes besides the weight loss. There was a little of
bubble.
Cu: Copper had no drastic changes. It only had slight weight loss but it was, in general,
the least reactive.
Analysis:

Conclusion:
I think that the data is very reliable because we dried the metals after the 10 minutes in
the hydrochloric acid and then weighed it carefully. I found out that Magnesium is the
most reactive metal of the four. Therefore I verified my hypothesis because I had
predicted that Magnesium would be the most descriptive and I was correct. As you can
see in the graph above, Magnesium (Mg) decreased in mass by 60% while the other
elements only got up to about 7.14% maximum (Aluminium). In general, metals are
reactive to acid. Especially the metals from group 2 (like Magnesium). In the graph you
can see that metals from group 2 are very reactive with hydrochloric acid and any acid
in general.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Mg Al Zn Cu
P
e
r
c
e
n
t
a
g
e

D
e
c
r
e
a
s
e

i
n

M
a
s
s

Metals
Graph 1: Reactivity of metals, measured as
the percentage decrease in mass when
reacted with hydrochloric acid.
Sophia Lino
Science Lab 8D
Evaluation:
I think, that the accuracy of the electronic balance that we used in this lab to weigh the
metals before ad after the lab, is very reliable. It used two decimal points. I think that
maybe it would have been even more reliable if it had used, maybe, three decimal points,
but it seemed reliable. However, I do not think that we had enough trial runs. We only
had one trial run and maybe next time we should do two. Another problem was the
metals surface area. None of them had the same surface area or shape. Some of the were
thicker than the other. For example, while the Zinc was like a little hard ball, the copper
was shaped more like strips that were tangled up. This could affect their reaction
because maybe the entire metal does not come in contact with the acid (HCl). Next time
we should find a better source of those metals. For example, we could use sheets, for
example Aluminium foil/sheets etc. Another experiment we could do to test the
reactivity of metals with acid is a method which requires:
Materials:
Magnesium (Mg) A beaker Water
Aluminum (Al) Test tube rack
Calcium (Ca) 10 test tubes
Copper (Cu) Access to waste containers
Zinc (Zn) 1 M HCl
The procedure is somewhat alike, except that there are more materials, which make it
more reliable.
Link to the other method:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCgQFj
AA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.embracechallenge.net%2Fchemistry%2FReactivity_ofC
ertain_Metals_Mini.doc&ei=yEX6UsjsE4LDhAef3ICABA&usg=AFQjCNHgSQKe4VbyFBNh
Gf_LG6JduB5dDw&sig2=OZBJnA0knWrTC-pJDuS3rQ&bvm=bv.61190604,d.ZG4
Sophia Lino
Science Lab 8D
Bibliography:
"Activity Series." College of DuPage. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb.
2014.<http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/jarman/richenda/1
551_hons_materials/Activity%20series.htm>
"Reactivity of Certain Metals Mini-lab." Reactivity of Certain
Metals Mini-lab. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source
=web&cd=1&ved=0CCgQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.em
bracechallenge.net%2Fchemistry%2FReactivity_ofCertain_Me
tals_Mini.doc&ei=yEX6UsjsE4LDhAef3ICABA&usg=AFQjCNHgS
QKe4VbyFBNhGf_LG6JduB5dDw&sig2=OZBJnA0knWrTC-
pJDuS3rQ&bvm=bv.61190604,d.ZG4>.