chemistry help!!!!!!!! reaction(s)?

Question

Hi folks I have two chemistry questions that I don't quite understand many somebody here can help me. They are as following:
1) zinc metal is placed into a solution containing silver ion, Ag^+?

2) gold metal is placed into a solution containing zinc ion, Zn^2+?

What would happen or what type of reaction? Please I need help understanding!!!!!!

Answer 1

These are redox reactions. Zinc metal is a reducing agent, because it is easily oxidised to Zn^2+. Ag^+ is reduced by the zinc, to metallic silver. To put it another way, the zinc metal transfers electrons to the silver ion, leaving silver metal and zinc ions.

Gold metal can in principle be oxidised, but that's not relevant here. Gold metal is pretty stable, and oxidised zinc is pretty stable, so nothing will happen in this case.

Answer 2

The two questions are basically related to the reactivity of metals.
You may like to memorise the following sentence: Please Send Cats, Monkeys And Zebras In Large Hired Cages Make Sure Padlocked.
Please = Potassium (most reactive)
Send = Sodium
Cats = Calcium
Monkeys = Magnesium
And = Aluminium
Zebras = Zinc
In = Iron
Large = Lead
Hired = Hired
Cages = Copper
Make = Mercury
Sure = Silver
Padlocked = Platinium (Least reactive)
When a metal is most reactive, it gives up its electron(s) most easily. These electrons are given to the ions of a less reactive metal, and the latter will be displaced out of its solution.
Since zinc is more reactive than silver, an atom of zinc will give up its 2 available electrons to two silver ions, and two silver atoms come out of its solution to form silver metal.

Reaction (2) - nothing happens as gold is a very stable metal and it is less reactive then zinc.

Gold comes between silver and platinium in the reactivity series.

Answer 3

1) zinc will displace silver ions in the solution and silver will precipitate out., according to the equation

Zn(s) + 2Ag + (aq) ----------> Zn (2+) (aq) + 2Ag(s)

In simple terms zinc enters the solution whilst silver leaves the solution,

2) Nothing will happen as zinc is more reactive than gold

Zn (2+)(aq) + Au (s) ----------> Zn (2+)(aq) + Au (s)

Answer 4

This helped so much. I'm doing the same pre-lab!
(Chem 130)