What it does
Some metals hold on to their electrons less tightly than others, so they react more easily. Put the metals in order and you get the reactivity series. A more reactive metal pushes a less reactive one out of a solution of its salt: this is a displacement reaction. This page is a safe virtual lab for it.
- The lab. Choose a metal strip and a solution: magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron(II), lead(II), copper(II) and silver salts, or dilute hydrochloric acid. Press Drop it in. The beaker shows what happens: a coating of the pushed-out metal on the strip, bubbles of hydrogen in acid, and the solution’s colour changing (blue copper(II) sulfate fades; iron(II) gives pale green). You also get the balanced equation and a list of what you would see.
- Your results. Every test lands in a grid (✓ displaced, ✗ no reaction). The page orders the metals you tested by how many others each one displaced, so you build the series yourself.
- The reactivity series. Tap any metal for how it reacts with water and dilute acid, and how it is extracted from its ore. The method follows the position: electrolysis for the most reactive metals, heating the oxide with carbon for the middle ones, heating the ore alone for copper and mercury, and gold and silver are found free.
It follows Class 10 Science (metals and non-metals: reactions with water and acids, how metals react with solutions of other metal salts, the reactivity series, extraction of metals of low, middle and high reactivity) and the Class 10 chapter on chemical reactions (displacement reactions). Write the salts’ formulas with the formula writer, balance more equations in the equation balancer, and later see the same order as cell voltages in the galvanic cell builder.
How to use it
- Choose a metal and a solution, then press Drop it in.
- Read the headline, the equation and what you would see.
- Press Test this metal in every solution to fill a whole row at once.
- Watch the series form under Your results: a metal that displaces another goes above it, and one that cannot goes below it. Clear results starts again.
- Tap metals in the series card to compare them.
Worked example: iron in copper(II) sulfate
Choose Fe and CuSO₄, then Drop it in. The answer is “Yes: iron displaces copper”.
Fe + CuSO₄ → FeSO₄ + Cu
A reddish-brown coat of copper forms on the iron, and the blue solution turns pale green as iron(II) ions replace copper(II) ions. Now try copper in iron(II) sulfate: no reaction, because copper is below iron in the series.
Test zinc, iron and copper in every solution. Zinc pushes out iron, lead, hydrogen, copper and silver; iron pushes out lead, hydrogen, copper and silver; copper only silver. That gives the order zinc > iron > copper, with hydrogen between iron and copper.
Tips
- A metal above hydrogen gives hydrogen gas with dilute acids; copper, mercury, silver and gold do not.
- Potassium, sodium and calcium react with the water in the solution before anything else, so they are never used for displacement tests.
- Aluminium is high in the series but often looks unreactive: a thin, tough oxide layer covers it.
FAQ
Why does lead react so slowly with acid? It sits just above hydrogen, and a layer of insoluble lead chloride forms on it.
Is anything saved? No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is stored or sent.
Is this an official textbook tool? No. It is an independent practice page that follows the same school topics.
Where the numbers come from
- Order of the reactivity series, reactions with water and dilute acid, and extraction methods: general chemistry facts as taught in school, written fresh for fibub.
- Equations are balanced by fibub's equation balancer code.
Standard scientific values, such as constants, atomic weights and melting points, are facts found in every textbook; we name where ours were checked. If you are an author or publisher and want a value, a credit or a table changed or removed, tell us and we will act quickly.
Last updated 2026-11-09.