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• Acids react with most metals.
• When an acid reacts with a metal, the products are a salt and hydrogen.
• This is the general word equation for the reaction:metal + acid → salt + hydrogen

Play an Atomic Labs experiment exploring how metals react with acid.

You can also play the full game

Watch this video about the reaction between some metals and acids.

While you're watching, listen out for the names of the products made in the reaction.

Acids react with some metals to produce a salt and hydrogen gas.

Metal + acid → salt + hydrogen

The abbreviation M.A.S.H. can be used to remember this general reaction.

When a metal is put in acid, it gets smaller and smaller as it gets used up in the chemical reaction.

At the same time, bubbles of gas can be seen. The bubbles produced in the reaction are hydrogen gas.

This can be proven using a burning splint because hydrogen is flammable. When the burning splint is put into the test tube containing hydrogen gas, a small explosion occurs, making a squeaky pop sound. This shows that hydrogen is present.

Some metals are very reactive. This means they easily take part in chemical reactions to make new substances.Other metals are very unreactive, and do not easily take part in chemical reactions.

If we put the metals in order of their reactivity, from the most reactive down to the least reactive, we get a list called the reactivity series.

The name of the salt formed from the reaction of a metal and acid can be worked out using the names of the metal and the acid.

Name of metal + name of acid → salt name

1. The first word is the name of the metal

For example, a salt made when magnesium is added to an acid would have magnesium as its first word.

2. The second word of the name is taken from the name of the acid

Hydrochloric acid → chloride

Nitric acid → nitrate

Sulfuric acid → sulfate

For example, zinc reacts with hydrochloric acid to produce zinc chloride and hydrogen.

The table below has some more examples.

The reaction of metals with acids can be described using a chemical equation.

A word equation:

magnesium + sulfuric acid → magnesium sulfate + hydrogen

Or a symbol equation:

Mg + H₂SO₄ → MgSO₄ + H₂

Make a set of flash cards for some acids and for some metals.

For the acids use hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and sulfuric acid. For the metals use magnesium, zinc and iron.

• Shuffle the acid flash cards and place them face down in a pile
• Shuffle the metal flash cards and place them face down in a pile
• Take one metal flash card and one acid flash card

1. Can you name the salt produced from this reaction?
2. Can you write a word equation for this reaction? Remember that hydrogen gas will be produced each time.

Are you a teacher looking for more resources to support your chemistry lessons? In this short video clip, science presenter Jon Chase uses universal indicator to measure the pH of a solution.

�鶹������ҳ��� Teach has thousands of free, curriculum-linked resources to help deliver lessons - all arranged by subject and age group.