Reactivity of metals

Denise 8a

Does a connection or relationship exist between the reactivity of a metal and the time it was discovered?

Our Question:

Background information

I know that metals with a greater atomic radius are more reactive, as they release their electrons more easily. This is because the electrons are farther away from the nucleus, and therefore the nucleus has a weaker hold on them.

"BBC - H2g2 - Metals, Their Properties and Reactivity - a Beginners' Guide." BBC - Homepage. British Broadcasting Corporation. Web. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3935955>.

My hypothesis

I think that it the time it was discovered will have a link with the reactivity, because more reactive metals (not surprisingly) will react with the air around them, and make themselves harder to find. The non reactive metals can be found lying around, so naturally they were found first, but as our technology improves we will find the hidden reactive metals.

There are currently around 117 metals, but for the sake of time and space, I will only list 10 of them ( in order of reactivity):

Metal When it was discovered

Reactivity

Cs – Caesium 1860 Extremely reactive

K – Potassium 1807 Extremely reactive

Li – Lithium 1817 Very reactive

Mg – Magnesium 1808 Very reactive

Zn – Zinc 1746 Fairly reactive

Co - Cobalt 1735 Fairly reactive

Fe - Iron 2500 BC Not very reactive

Sn – Tin 2000 BC Not very reactive

Cu - Copper 5000 BC Not very reactive

Hg – Mercury 1500 BC Not very reactive

Conclusion

I think that there’s a slight pattern; all of the more reactive metals (Caesium , Potassium, Lithium and Magnesium) were found in the 1800s, while the metals categorized as fairly reactive were found in the 1700s and metals classified as not very reactive in B.C.

This agrees with my hypothesis.

Reflection

I think that I could have done better by using more metals, to make a more accurate result. I also could have fixed my background information – certain parts I didn’t understand I could have found out, but didn’t have the time to.

Bibliography"Cesium." Nobel.scas.bcit.ca. British Columbia Institute of Technology. Web. 02 Nov. 2010. <http://nobel.scas.bcit.ca/resource/ptable/cs.htm> .

Periodic Table of Elements. Digital image. Ptable. Web. <http://www.ptable.com/Images/periodic%20table.png>.

Periodic Table of Elements. Digital image. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia, Media Wiki. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Periodic_table_discovery_periods.png>.

Winter, Mark. "Potassium | Historical Information." WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements. The University of Sheffield, 1993 - 2010. Web. <http://www.webelements.com/potassium/history.html>.

"Facts about Lithium." Facts About Everything! Arts, Literature, Science, History, Events, Entertainment, People, Places and the Natural World. Web. <http://www.facts-about.org.uk/science-element-lithium.htm>.

"Facts about Magnesium." Facts About Everything! Arts, Literature, Science, History, Events, Entertainment, People, Places and the Natural World. Web. <http://www.facts-about.org.uk/science-element-magnesium.htm>.

"Periodic Table of the Elements." Kemijsko-tehnološki Fakultet U Splitu. Croatian Ministry for Science and Technology, 15 Oct. 2010. Web. <http://www.ktf-split.hr/periodni/en/>.

"BBC - H2g2 - Metals, Their Properties and Reactivity - a Beginners' Guide." BBC - Homepage. British Broadcasting Corporation. Web. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3935955>.