Investigating Which Metal Combination Gives Out the Most Voltage in a Solution

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Investigating Which Metal Combination Gives Out the Most Voltage in a Solution

Background

Metals are an order of chemical elements in the periodic table. They

are arranged in atomic number. All of them are solid (apart from

mercury), good thermal and electrical conductors and are shiny when

polished. Metals and non - metals are separated in the table by a

diagonal line.

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The reactivity series is a table to show which metals are most

reactive to the least reactive. Potassium is known as the most

reactive and platinum the least.

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[IMAGE] Most reactive

Potassium

Sodium

Lithium

Calcium

Magnesium

Aluminium

Zinc

Iron

Tin

Lead

Copper

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Silver

Gold

Potassium

Least reactive

Electrical flow through metals work like this: the current in the

metal is carried by electrons and will only flow if there charges

which can move freely. Metals contain a sea of electrons (which are

negatively charged) and which flow throughout the metal. This is what

allows electric current to flow so well in all metals.

An electrode is a component of an electric circuit that connects the

wiring of the circuit to a gas or electrolyte. A compound that

conducts in a solution is called an electrolyte. The electrically

positive electrode is called the anode and the negative electrode the

cathode. When a positive and a negative electrode are placed in a

solution containing ions, and an electric potential is applied to the

electrodes, the positively charged ions move towards the negative

electrode, and the negatively charged ions to the positive electrode.

As a result, an electric current flows between the electrodes. The

strength of the current depends on the electric potential between the

electrodes and the concentration of ions in the solution.

Ionization is the formation of electrically charges atoms or

molecules. Atoms are electrically neutral; the electrons that bear the

negative charge are equal in number to the protons in the nucleus

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