F Activity 8: Metal Identification

Metal Activity Series

In the periodic table unit you began to dive into the world of metals,
discovering properties and trends of metallic elements such as
reactivity to acid, pH of a metal’s oxide, and conductivity. You
discovered similarities in these properties that lead you to determine
if an element is a nonmetal, metal, or possibly a metalloid; but since
our focus as forensic chemists is identifying a unique element, the
next step is to naturally ask how we differentiate between metallic
elements?
There are a variety of properties we could look at in metals, including
what is pictured above, melting point. Today, though, we’ll look at
reactivity as a means of identifying a pure metallic element. This
property, while not conclusive alone, will allow you to classify metallic
fragments found at a scene. In addition, since it is a presumptive
test, it will give you another possible twist to your crime drama.
Finally, understanding principles from this activity, such as the
activity series of metals, will give you the foundation for the next
forensic task – restoring serial numbers.

P
P R E P A R I N G

WHAT DO YOU THINK? • LE ARNING OBJECTIVES

Analysis of diagrams is just as important as being able to

draw them. Take a look at the diagram to the right. Analyze
the diagram carefully and discuss it with your partners
before tackling the questions below.

1. What metal elements are represented in this

diagram?
2. How is the structure of a metallic element similar to
that of an ionic compound? How is it different?
3. What is the limitation of the nano-diagram above the
test tubes? (Hint: it relates to the reason metals are
very malleable whereas ionic compounds are
brittle.)
2+
4. What is the difference between Cu and Cu at the
macroscale (i.e. in the test tubes) and at the
molecular level?
5. What lab from the periodic table unit does this relate
to? Why did you choose that activity?
6. In your own words, describe what is happening in
this diagram. Be specific – simply stating a
chemical reaction is not enough.

As always, include an objective for this laboratory activity

and share that objective with a teammate or laboratory
partner.

Based on Active Chemistry: Forensics

1
E
E X P E R I M E N T I N G

METAL RE ACTIONS • ANALYSIS

Part A: Data Collection

On your lab bench you have a series of metal strips and corresponding solutions of ionic compounds of
those same metals. Hydrochloric acid (HCl) has been included as well. Take a look at the metals you
have to make sure you know what you are experimenting with in this activity. This laboratory exploration
will not only be the basis of the next activity (serial numbers), but it will also lay a foundation for portions
of the next two challenges. Take your time today and make sure you take careful notes in your
observation section of the investigating section.

1. Clean each metal strip thoroughly with a piece of steel wool. In your observations section, note
why you think you are doing this.
2. Lay out your two well plates on a piece of white paper, leaving space above and to the left of the
plates. Make sure they are very clean. You may need to wash and rinse with your distilled bottle
if you find the wells are noticeably dirty.
3. Above each column of wells write the chemical formula for each of the ionic solutions on the white
paper. In addition, note the color of each solution by the respective chemical formulas.
4. In the space to the left, write the name or chemical symbol for each of the metals provided. Each
row of your spot plate will represent one metal.
5. In your notebook, create a large table representing the well plate design you have at your
laboratory station. This should span both columns of your notebook. Leave some space to the
left and above the row and column labels for the analysis section!
6. Place the small metal strips into all of the wells in the corresponding rows.
7. Place ten drops of the first ionic solution in all of the wells in its column. Look for signs of a
chemical reaction (think back to the first unit – production of a gas, formation of a precipitate,
color change, energy change). Note any changes in your table in your lab notebook.
8. Repeat step 7 for each column until you have every piece of metal covered with an ionic solution.
Note all changes in your table.
9. Take a second look at each column under the stereoscope. Some of the reactions may take
time, and others may be very small changes. Make final observations and note what you see in
each box of your table. If you noticed no change after a second look (which is okay!), then just
simply leave that box blank.
10. Do not clean out your well plates until you have completed the initial questions in Part B; you will
do some group analysis and may need to go back to your results.
Part B: Analysis
1. With your tablemates or with your larger cooperative group, go over your results. Where there
are differences of opinion, you should look at each other’s well plates.
2. Your instructor will then have each larger group write their results on the board to analyze as a
group.
3. Once the class has analyzed the results, make any changes necessary to your table in the
experimenting section.
4. For Part B, create a new table with the proper number of columns and rows. Do not label the
rows or columns quite yet!

Based on Active Chemistry: Forensics

2
 5. This time, you will create a bit of order to your table. First order your rows: in the original table in
your preparing section, write the number of times the metal reacted to the left of the metal’s name
or symbol. Next order your columns by again writing the number of times the ionic solution
reacted above the chemical formula of the solution.
6. Recreate the table, this time making your first row the metal that reacted the most times and
your first column the solution that reacted the most times.
7. Under the table, write a brief summary of the pattern you see.
Once you have written your paragraph, you are ready to move onto the standard analysis. As mentioned
before the procedure, this lab is the foundation for labs throughout the rest of the course. Take your time
reading and analyzing, jotting down any questions you have for the lecture on this activity in your
analyzing section.

A
A N A L Y Z I N G

RE ADING • QUESTIONS

Reading: Metal Identification

Metals and Transition Metals

Metals vary in their reactivity. Some metals lose their outer electrons so easily that we rarely see
them in their pure form, because they react with too many common substances, like water.
Metals that are in Group I of the periodic table, such as sodium and potassium, fall into this
category. Group II metals tend to be slightly less reactive, though not all Group I metals are more
reactive than Group II metals. Other metals are so unreactive that they are found in nature in their
pure state. Gold and silver fall into this category; this property accounts in part for the high value
placed upon them.

Gold and silver, along with many of the metals we tested in this activity, are transition metals.
Transition metals are located in the center section of the periodic table, making the “transition”
from the metals on the left side of the periodic table to the nonmetals on the right side. Iron is an
example of a transition metal which, like many transition metals, can form cations with different
charges and properties. As we saw in the luminol reaction from Activity 3, iron(II) and iron(III)
ions had different chemical properties. When naming most transition metals, we use a roman
number following the metal name to represent the charge on the metal ion in the compound. For
example, you used SnCl4(aq) in this activity. We call that tin(IV) chloride, since tin is a transition
metal and in this compound the tin ions have a charge of +4 (how can you figure the charge
out?!). Tin(II) is another possible cation of tin; it has a charge of +2.

Single Replacement Reactions

In this activity, you placed a piece of metal into a solution of an ionic compound in order to
observe a possible chemical reaction. This type of reaction is called a single replacement
reaction. An example of a single replacement reaction you didn’t observe is the reaction between
copper metal and silver nitrate solution.

copper + silver nitrate → copper(II) nitrate + silver

Cu(s) + 2AgNO3(aq) → Cu(NO3)2(aq) + 2Ag(s)

It is called a single replacement (SR) because a free element replaces an ion in the compound.
The ion in the compound becomes a free, neutral element. In the example, the metal copper
replaces the silver metal ion in the compound silver nitrate, forming copper(II) nitrate. The silver
Based on Active Chemistry: Forensics
3
 ions that are replaced become neutral silver atoms. This type of reaction is similar to the double
replacement (DR) reaction we studied in the last activity. In a double replacement reaction, ions
from two different compounds exchange places. In a single replacement reaction a free element
replaces an ion in a compound. An example of each type of reaction is shown below.

SR Zn(s) + Cu(NO3)2(aq) → Zn(NO3)2(aq) + Cu(s)

DR NaCl(aq) + AgNO3(aq) → AgCl(s) + NaNO3(aq)

Other examples of single replacement reactions include:

zinc + copper(II) sulfate→ zinc sulfate + copper

Zn(s) + CuSO4(aq) → Zn SO4(aq) + Cu(s)

aluminum + sulfuric acid → aluminum sulfate + hydrogen gas

2 Al(s) + 3 H2SO4(aq) → Al2(SO4)3(aq) + 3 H2(g)

Single replacement reactions differ from double replacement reactions in that electrons are
transferred in single replacement reactions but not in double replacement reactions. In double
replacement reaction ions are switching places. In a single replacement reaction the free metal is
losing electrons (thus becoming a positively charged ion) and the metal ion is gaining electrons
(thus becoming a neutral atom). Because of this electron transfer, single replacement reactions
are classified as oxidation-reduction reactions.

Oxidation and Reduction

We’ve been building to this concept through the activities. Remember back to Activity 3, atoms
that have an equal number of protons and electrons are neutral and have no charge. Any metal in
its natural state, where it is not combined with any other element, such as copper metal,
aluminum metal, and iron metal, are neutral. So, iron metal Fe(s), copper metal Cu(s), and
aluminum metal Al(s) are all neutral. If the metal loses electrons, it becomes a cation, an ion with
a positive charge.

In the periodic table unit we observed that when a metal forms a compound, it loses electrons. So, in
a single replacement reaction, the free metal loses electrons to the metal ion in the compound. Look
at the reaction you did in this activity between aluminum metal and iron(III) nitrate:

Al(s) + Fe(NO3)3(aq) → Fe(s) + Al(NO3)3(aq)

In this reaction aluminum metal loses three electrons to iron ions, forming aluminum ion.

Al(s) → Al
3+ -
(aq) + 3e

When a substance loses electrons we say it has been oxidized. Oxidation is the loss of
electrons. In this case aluminum metal has been oxidized to form aluminum ion. Also, in
oxidation, the charge, or oxidation number as it is called, is becoming more positive, 0 to +3.

However, electrons cannot just be lost. Another element has to accept them. In this case, iron(III)
ions from the iron nitrate accept the electrons from aluminum to form iron metal.

+ 3e- → Fe(s)
3+
Fe (aq)

Based on Active Chemistry: Forensics

4
 When a substance gains electrons, we say it has been reduced. In this case, iron(III) ion has
been reduced to form iron metal. Notice that in reduction, the oxidation number, or charge, gets
-
smaller, +3 to 0. The net reaction is (nitrate, NO3 , is omitted because it is not changed in the
reaction):
Oxidation
Al(s) + Fe3+(aq) → Al3+(aq) + Fe(s)
Reduction
Another example is the reaction between zinc and a copper(II) solution:
Oxidation
Zn(s) + Cu2+(aq) → Zn2+(aq) + Cu(s)
Reduction
An easy way to remember oxidation and reduction is the saying “LEO the lion says GER”- Loss
of Electrons is Oxidation, Gain of Electrons is Reduction. Since oxidation does do not occur
without reduction, we commonly call these types of reactions oxidation-reduction reactions.

The Activity Series of Metals

As you observed in this activity, not all metals will react
to replace all of the metal ions. Some elements do not
lose their outer, or valence, electrons in single-
replacement reactions as easily as other elements. In
other words, some elements are not oxidized as easily
as others. The activity series of metals, pictured to
the right, ranks the metals in order of ease of oxidation.
The elements at the top of the activity series lose their
electrons in single replacement reactions more easily
than do elements at the bottom of the list. The activity
series can be used to predict if a single replacement
reaction will take place. For a single replacement
reaction to occur, the free, neutral metal must be higher
on the list than the metal ion it is trying to replace. For
example, will the following reaction occur?

Au(s) + FeCl3(aq) → NO REACTION

No reaction will occur in this case because Au, the free atom, is lower than Fe, the metal ion, on
the activity series. Another example is below. Will this reaction take place?

Mg(s) + FeCl3(aq) →

This reaction will occur because Mg, the free atom, is higher on the activity series than Fe, the metal
ion. Magnesium is oxidized more easily than iron and magnesium will transfer its outer electrons to
iron.

Questions: Metal Identification

1. List the metals you examined in order of decreasing activity in single-replacement reactions.
2. Based on your results with HCl, where do you think hydrogen would belong in this activity series?
Explain citing your specific results.

3. Which of these combinations would you expect to produce a reaction? For each, explain why.
a. aluminum with iron(III) sulfate
b. zinc with copper(II) sulfate
c. calcium with zinc sulfate
d. magnesium with zinc nitrate

Based on Active Chemistry: Forensics

5
 4. Complete the word equations for the single replacement reactions which happen in question #3.

5. Write the full equation for each for each of the reactions that happens in question #3.

6. The chemical formula for rust is Fe2O3. Iron metal is simply Fe. When iron is converted to iron(III)
oxide, what is oxidized and what is reduced?

7. Sometimes a piece of zinc metal is attached to a steel (mostly iron) pipe. Why?

8. Which reactions are redox reactions? For the redox reactions identify the reactant that is oxidized
and the reactant that is reduced?
a. Sn(s) + Cu (aq)→ Sn (aq)+ Cu(s)
2+ 2+

b. 2Zn(s) + Sn (aq)→ 2Zn (aq)+ Sn(s)

4+ 2+

c. Cu (aq) + OH (aq) → Cu(OH)2(s)

2+ -

C R I T I C A L L Y T H I N K I N G

CT ME AN? • KNOW? • BELIEVE? • CARE?

What does the activity mean?

Chemistry explains the macroscopic phenomenon (what you observe) with and explanation of what
happens at the nanoscopic level (atoms and molecules) using symbolic structures as a way to
communicate. Explain the meaning of this activity by completing the MNS table.

MACRO NANO SYMBOLIC

What reactions did you
observe between metals and
the nitrate solutions?
Explain what is happening at
the nanoscopic level to the
atoms of metals in the single-
replacement reactions.
To assist in predicting what will
happen when a metal is placed
in a nitrate solution, you can
use the activity series of
metals. Explain in words how
can you use this chart?

How do I know?
Make specific reference to your data and how it corresponds to your thoughts earlier in the preparing
section. Re-answer question 6 in the preparing section, using the terms oxidized, reduced, and
activity series.

Why do I believe?
You have thought about what activities this may connect to in your preparing section. Specifically,
this relates best to Activity 2: Elements and Their Properties (the portion with the metals reacting to
HCl) and Activity 3: Atoms and Their Masses. In Activity 3 from PT, what was the redox reaction you
observed? What was oxidized and what was reduced?

Why should I care?

Explain briefly how the information in this activity could help a forensic scientist identify an unknown
metal found at a crime scene? This could be mixed well with density to help triangulate evidence for
3
an unknown metal. Create a table that states the density (in g/mL or g/cm ) of each of the metals
presented in this lab.

Based on Active Chemistry: Forensics

6