Which of the following reactions are not feasible?

2023

Which of the following reactions are not feasible?

  1. A.

    PbSO4 + Fe

  2. B.

    Al + CuSO4

  3. C.

    Zn + CaSO4

  4. D.

    Mg + ZnSO4

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C

In the reactivity (activity) series, metals are ranked in decreasing order of chemical reactivity, tracked by their standard electrode potential E°: potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron, lead, hydrogen, copper, mercury, silver, gold — from most negative E° (most reactive) to most positive (least reactive). A displacement reaction of the form (free metal) + (metal sulfate) → (new sulfate) + (displaced metal) is the standard convention this item is built on: it proceeds only when the free metal's E° is more negative than that of the metal already combined in the sulfate — a less reactive metal cannot displace a more reactive one.

Checking each of the four pairings by standard electrode potential (E°, approximate values vs. SHE):

Reaction

E° of free metal vs. E° of the salt's metal

Result

PbSO4 + Fe

Fe (−0.44 V) more negative than Pb (−0.13 V)

Displacement occurs — feasible

Al + CuSO4

Al (−1.66 V) more negative than Cu (+0.34 V)

Displacement occurs — feasible

Zn + CaSO4

Zn (−0.76 V) less negative than Ca (−2.87 V)

No displacement — not feasible

Mg + ZnSO4

Mg (−2.37 V) more negative than Zn (−0.76 V)

Displacement occurs — feasible

Cross-check against the full series order: calcium's E° (−2.87 V) is far more negative than zinc's (−0.76 V) — calcium, an alkaline-earth metal, sits near the very top of the series, well ahead of the transition metal zinc. The zinc + calcium sulfate pairing is the only one of the four where the free metal's E° is less negative than the salt-metal's E° — every other pairing has the free metal's E° more negative.

Hence the reaction between zinc and calcium sulfate does not take place; zinc's electrode potential is not negative enough to displace the far more reactive calcium.

Explore the full course: Uptet Paper 2

Loading lesson…