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AQA GCSE · Question 01.6 · Chemical changes
Some salts can be produced by reacting sulfuric acid with a metal.
Neither copper nor sodium is used to produce a salt with sulfuric acid.
Give one reason why each metal is not used.
Copper:
Sodium:
Some salts can be produced by reacting sulfuric acid with a metal.
Neither copper nor sodium is used to produce a salt with sulfuric acid.
Give one reason why each metal is not used.
Copper:
Sodium:
How to approach this question
For Copper: Consider the reactivity series. For a metal to react with an acid to produce a salt and hydrogen, where must it be in the reactivity series relative to hydrogen?
For Sodium: Consider where sodium is in the reactivity series. What happens when very reactive metals are added to acid?
Full Answer
Copper: Copper is less reactive than hydrogen / too unreactive.
Sodium: The reaction is too vigorous / explosive / dangerous.
The reaction between a metal and an acid depends on the metal's position in the reactivity series.
**Copper:** Copper is below hydrogen in the reactivity series. This means it is not reactive enough to displace hydrogen from an acid. Therefore, no reaction occurs between copper and sulfuric acid.
**Sodium:** Sodium is at the top of the reactivity series, making it a very reactive metal. When added to an acid, the reaction is extremely vigorous and explosive, releasing a large amount of energy very quickly. This makes it too dangerous to carry out in a school laboratory.
Common mistakes
✗ For Copper: Saying "it is unreactive" without comparing it to hydrogen.
✗ For Sodium: Saying "it is too reactive" without explaining the consequence (e.g., explosive, dangerous).
Practice the full AQA GCSE Chemistry Higher Tier Paper 1
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