Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Chemistry · specification 4CH1 · Paper 2 | Whole paper: All content including bold C statements · Free · no account needed
2(d) Reactivity series (4CH1 specification)
Ordering metals by how readily they lose electrons, and using that order to predict reactions and extractions.
Learn it on Incandio
The 5 Incandio pages that teach this — each explained in full, then proved in marked questions, taught back to an AI pupil and defended in a debate. Completely free.
- The Gases in the Air — Four gases, one of which is doing almost all the chemistry — and how to measure it without ever touching it.
- Combustion and Carbonates — Three things burning in oxygen, one carbonate breaking apart, and the 0.04% gas that changes the climate.
- The Reactivity Series — Putting eleven metals in order by watching what each one will and will not do.
- Rusting and its Prevention — Two things are needed to rust iron, and every method of stopping it removes one of them — or cheats.
- Redox — The same reaction described twice — once by what gains oxygen, and once by what loses electrons.
The teaching route this belongs to: Topic 2 · Inorganic chemistry (Chemistry) — the lessons in order, with every gate.
Specification coverage
Topic 2 Inorganic chemistry (d) Reactivity series — statements 2.13–2.20C (includes bold C statements assessed on Paper 2 only)
Assessment objectives: AO1, AO2. Suggested learning time: 70 minutes.
Required knowledge
- The reactivity series of metals and the reactions of metals with water and dilute acid
- Displacement reactions between metals and metal salt solutions
- The link between reactivity and the method of extraction from an ore
- Oxidation and reduction in terms of oxygen and of electron transfer
- Bold C statements: redox in terms of electron transfer in greater depth, including oxidising and reducing agents
Required skills
- Predict displacement outcomes from the series
- Identify what is oxidised and what is reduced in an equation
- Explain why a given metal is extracted by a given method
How it is examined
- Multiple-choice and short-answer recall
- Application of the content to an unfamiliar context
- Extended open-response, marked on the quality of a connected explanation
Common mistakes
- Reciting OIL RIG without applying it. Say which species loses electrons and which gains, with the half-equations if asked.
- Saying reactive metals are extracted by carbon reduction. Metals above carbon in the series require electrolysis.
This page maps the specification. The pages above teach it, and the Chemistry lessons hold the whole course — completely free.