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The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

Single Replacement Reactions

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Single Replacement Lab

A 9th-12th Grade STEM Lesson

Ty White

7/31/23

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Notes for Teachers

This is a simple activity for students to create a reaction matrix and document visible reactions.

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I intentionally use materials that can create unclear reactions for students to develop strategies to solve problems.

Students are given a variety of metals and their soluble nitrate compounds. Can add silver nitrate without using silver. Same for nitric acid without using hydrogen.

List of Materials

  • well plate
  • organizational chart
  • variety of metals and their nitrate compounds.

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AZ Standards

Essential HS.P1U1.2

Develop and use models for the transfer or sharing of electrons to predict the formation of ions, molecules, and compounds in both natural and synthetic processes.

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Mathematical Practices

P.MP.4 Model with mathematics.

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Objective(s): Students will monitor for visual cues of chemical reactions.

Students will design “activity” series to predict future reactions.

Today students will prepare data collection process to create a predicting model chart of what materials wll react. For clarity, their activity series will likely be inverse of reduction potential chart.

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Agenda

Students will need to sand oxide from metal surfaces and place them into well plate to perform reaction. Students will also place nitrate solutions in wells as needed to create situations for single replacement reactions to occur.

Strategy for better results is longer time arrangements for slow reactions to create better indications of change.

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Why do some reactions occur? Why do some materials react, while others do not?

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Students should notice that in well-plate grid, there are “reflection” reactions, such as

Fe + Mn(NO3)2 →

Mn + Fe(NO3)3 →

In this arrangement only one of the reactions should occur. Why does that reaction occur when the other doesn’t? What change is taking place? Students should notice that there is an ionization, or redox reaction taking place, where one metals takes electrons, and the other metal loses them.

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

  • Students should work in groups of 3 to speed up preparation process, sanding metals and arranging metals/solutions.
  • Before beginning the lab, students should have prepared the “Purpose”, “Materials”, “Procedure”, and “Data Table” configuring their well plate arrangements.
  • Students will prepare metals and place them in well plates. They will then add enough solutions to cover the sanded surface.
  • Monitor for awhile, and record observations.

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Assessment

Students complete lab report. Sample Calculations will list every reaction performed, with an indication of no reaction, or the new products. The Data Analysis will explain how they create their own activity series according to their data, justifying rankings.

Conclusion asks the same 3 questions:

  1. Sources of error
  2. Ways to improve the lab experience
  3. Reflect on what you learned.

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Differentiation

  • Peer Support
  • Instructor performed well plate to make reactions easier to observe
  • Focus tutoring time to be certain electron transfer understanding is clear.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

  • Connect to technology application - battery design where metals are separate until circuit is closed.