An aerospace materials engineer is investigating the galvanic corrosion susceptibility of various structural metals when coupled with zinc (Zn\text{Zn}Zn).
To model the galvanic cell, the engineer couples each metal with a zinc reference electrode in a 3.5%3.5\%3.5% sodium chloride electrolyte solution. The potential difference (voltage) produced by each pair is recorded in the table below:
| Metal | Symbol | Measured Potential / V\text{V}V |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | Ag\text{Ag}Ag | −1.56-1.56−1.56 |
| Magnesium | Mg\text{Mg}Mg | +1.61+1.61+1.61 |
| Zinc | Zn\text{Zn}Zn | 0.000.000.00 |
| Iron | Fe\text{Fe}Fe | −0.32-0.32−0.32 |
| Aluminium | Al\text{Al}Al | +0.90+0.90+0.90 |
Write the chemical symbols of the five metals in the table in order of reactivity, from most reactive to least reactive. Justify your answer.
Practise AQA GCSE Chemistry Reactivity of metals with exam-style questions for Foundation and Higher tier. 11 questions covering Metal oxides, The reactivity series, Extraction of metals and reduction, and Oxidation and reduction in terms of electrons (HT only), matched to the AQA GCSE Chemistry (8462) specification and written in Paper 1 and Paper 2 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.