“Magnesium!” the class shouted.
“Don’t be a hero yet,” Lin warned, pouring 2 cm³ of the deep, sapphire-blue copper(II) sulphate solution into each tube. The liquid was beautiful, like a piece of the ocean trapped in glass.
The reaction was instant and violent. The magnesium hissed like an angry cat. The blue solution boiled around the metal, turning pale within seconds. But unlike the zinc, the magnesium didn’t just produce a dusting of copper. It became coated in a hot, fizzing blanket of reddish-brown powder. The test tube grew warm to the touch. chemistry form 4 experiment 5.1
Lin dropped a small piece of copper wire into the blue liquid. They waited. One minute. Two. The copper sat at the bottom like a sleeping snake. The blue remained blue.
Ravi, whose fingers were always a little too eager, held a small coil of magnesium ribbon. It looked like a piece of dull, grey tinsel. “This looks harmless,” he smirked. “Magnesium
The more reactive metal (magnesium or zinc) acts as the displacer, while the less reactive metal (copper) is displaced. The reactivity series is not just a list—it is a hierarchy of chemical power.
The solution turned from vibrant blue to a pale, cloudy colourless. The reddish-brown solid was pure, elemental copper. Zinc was the hero. The reaction was instant and violent
Maya, the cautious one, read the steps aloud. “First, we label four test tubes. One is the control.”
“Look!” Lin gasped. “The blue is disappearing! And… is that copper metal?”