Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Chemistry · 4CH1 · Free · no account needed
The Reactivity Series — exam questions
12 original Incandio exam-style questions on the Reactivity Series, 26 marks, about 26 minutes of writing. Each one carries the command word, the tariff and the specification statement it assesses, exactly as a paper presents them. This is an original Incandio practice question, written to reflect the structure and demands of the qualification. It is not an official Pearson Edexcel past-paper question.
This is the practice set for The Reactivity Series — the lesson that teaches it. Read the lesson first if the idea is new; come here when you want to find out whether you can turn it into marks. Completely free, no account needed to read.
What these questions ask of you
8 command words run through this set, and on Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Chemistry each one means something precise. Answering the wrong command is the commonest way a candidate who understands the lesson still loses the mark.
- Which (1 mark)
- one option chosen from the set given
- Name (1 mark)
- the correct chemical name
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer — the most common chemistry command
- Describe (2–5 marks)
- developed, linked statements of what happens or what is observed Misread as: giving one bare observation where the tariff asked for a developed account
- Explain (2–4 marks)
- the reason, in terms of particles, bonding, energy or equilibrium Misread as: describing the observation without giving the chemistry that causes it
- Write (1–3 marks)
- the equation, formula or ionic equation, balanced, with state symbols where asked
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught chemistry to an unfamiliar substance
- Identify (1–2 marks)
- the correct substance or feature selected from what is given
Assessed on Paper 1 (4CH1/1C) and Paper 2 (4CH1/2C), against AO1, AO2, AO3.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Chemistry (4CH1) — statements 2.17 · 2.15 · 2.16. Incandio is aligned to this specification; it is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's wording.
The 12 questions
Answer them on paper, then open the lesson's exam practice to have them marked. The mark scheme, the accepted and rejected answers and the annotated model answer are in Incandio and are not printed here — an answer beside its question is not practice.
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Table 1 — metals added to solutions of metal sulfates magnesium sulfate zinc sulfate copper(II) sulfate magnesium — coating forms coating forms zinc no change — coating forms copper no change no change — Reactivity series — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron, (hydrogen), copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(a)
(1)Identify
Identify the most reactive metal in Table 1.
Table 1 — metals added to solutions of metal sulfates magnesium sulfate zinc sulfate copper(II) sulfate magnesium — coating forms coating forms zinc no change — coating forms copper no change no change — Reactivity series — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron, (hydrogen), copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(b)
(2)Explain
Explain how both the coatings and the blank cells in Table 1 support that answer.
Table 1 — metals added to solutions of metal sulfates magnesium sulfate zinc sulfate copper(II) sulfate magnesium — coating forms coating forms zinc no change — coating forms copper no change no change — Reactivity series — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron, (hydrogen), copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(c)
(3)Explain
Explain what the coating that forms on the metal in Table 1 is made of, and where it comes from.
Table 1 — metals added to solutions of metal sulfates magnesium sulfate zinc sulfate copper(II) sulfate magnesium — coating forms coating forms zinc no change — coating forms copper no change no change — Reactivity series — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron, (hydrogen), copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(d)
(3)Suggest
A fourth metal, added to all three solutions in Table 1, gives a coating only in the copper(II) sulfate. Suggest where it belongs in the reactivity series.
Table 1 — metals added to solutions of metal sulfates magnesium sulfate zinc sulfate copper(II) sulfate magnesium — coating forms coating forms zinc no change — coating forms copper no change no change — Reactivity series — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron, (hydrogen), copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(Total for Question 1 = 9 marks)
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(1)Which
Which of these metals is the least reactive?
Metal A calcium B zinc C iron D gold (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)Name
Name the gas given off when zinc reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(1)Give
Give the name of one metal from the reactivity series that reacts with cold water.
Reactivity series — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron, (hydrogen), copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(Total for Question 4 = 1 mark)
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(2)Describe
Describe how the reactions of magnesium, zinc and copper with dilute acid could be used to place the three metals in order of reactivity.
Reactivity series — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron, (hydrogen), copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(Total for Question 5 = 2 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why iron displaces copper from copper(II) sulfate solution but copper does not displace iron from iron(II) sulfate solution.
Reactivity series — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron, (hydrogen), copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(2)Write
Write the balanced symbol equation for the reaction between zinc and copper(II) sulfate solution.
(Total for Question 7 = 2 marks)
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(3)Suggest
Suggest why silver and gold are found in the ground as the metals themselves, while aluminium is only ever found combined.
Reactivity series — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron, (hydrogen), copper, silver, gold — most reactive first
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(4)Explain
Explain why a displacement reaction happens when magnesium is added to copper(II) sulfate solution, but nothing happens when copper is added to magnesium sulfate solution.
(Total for Question 9 = 4 marks)
Have them marked, then defend the answer
Practice tells you the mark; teaching it back tells you whether you understand it. On Incandio a topic counts as mastered only once you have taught it and defended it.
- Mark these questions — 12 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain the Reactivity Series to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Alessandro Volta over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- The Reactivity Series — Putting eleven metals in order by watching what each one will and will not do.
- All of Incandio Chemistry · Incandio Exam Practice