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SavannahYear 8
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ScienceChemical reactions25 min★★ difficulty

Exothermic, endothermic and the reactivity series

Every reaction moves energy as well as atoms. Some warm their surroundings, some cool them — and knowing which metals react hardest lets you predict the result before you mix anything.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Chemistry: chemical reactions: Understand exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions and the reactivity series of metals

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions and the reactivity series of metals

Key learning points

  • • Energy in and out
  • • The reactivity series
  • • Reactions as rearrangement

This lesson at a glance

  • 25 minutes
  • 16 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

exothermicendothermicchemicalreactionsreactivity

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 16 · Discover6%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 16

Watch first

Exothermic, endothermic and the reactivity series

An English teaching video on this topic from Revision Monkey. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Understand exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions and the reactivity series of metals

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 16

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Energy in and out

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 16

Learn

Energy in and out

An exothermic reaction transfers energy to the surroundings, so the temperature rises: combustion, neutralisation and most oxidation reactions. An endothermic reaction takes energy in, so the temperature falls: thermal decomposition and some dissolving reactions such as certain sports cold packs.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 16

Learn

The reactivity series

Potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, zinc, iron, lead, copper, silver, gold — from most to least reactive. A more reactive metal will displace a less reactive one from its compound, and reactivity predicts how vigorously a metal reacts with water or acid.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 16

Quick check

What happens to the temperature in an exothermic reaction?

6

Quick check

Part 6 of 16

Quick check

Which metal is most reactive in the list above?

7

Reset break

Part 7 of 16

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 16

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Reactions as rearrangement

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 16

Learn

Reactions as rearrangement

No atoms are created or destroyed. In magnesium + copper sulfate → magnesium sulfate + copper, the same atoms end up in different partnerships, which is why mass is conserved and equations balance.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 16

Quick check

Will copper displace zinc from zinc sulfate?

11

Quick check

Part 11 of 16

Quick check

Why is mass conserved in a chemical reaction?

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 16

Worked example

Worked example: predicting a displacement

Will zinc react with copper sulfate solution? Zinc sits above copper in the series, so yes: zinc + copper sulfate → zinc sulfate + copper. The blue colour fades and a pink-brown copper deposit forms. Reversing the pair — copper with zinc sulfate — gives no reaction, because copper is less reactive.

13

Challenge round

Part 13 of 16

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

14

Challenge round

Part 14 of 16

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

An ____ reaction transfers energy to the surroundings, so the temperature rises: combustion, neutralisation and most oxidation reactions.

An ____ reaction takes energy in, so the temperature falls: thermal decomposition and some dissolving reactions such as certain sports cold packs.

A more reactive metal will displace a less reactive one from its compound, and ____ predicts how vigorously a metal reacts with water or acid.

15

Mastery quiz

Part 15 of 16

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Exothermic, endothermic and the reactivity series

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. What happens to the temperature in an exothermic reaction?

  2. 2. Which metal is most reactive in the list above?

  3. 3. Will copper displace zinc from zinc sulfate?

  4. 4. Why is mass conserved in a chemical reaction?

16

Lesson round-up

Part 16 of 16

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Case study

Why the school greenhouse failed

A science club grew tomato plants in the school greenhouse. In June the plants grew well: leaves were dark green and the fruit set quickly. In July the club went away for two weeks and left the greenhouse door shut. When they came back, the leaves were curled and pale and most of the fruit had dropped.

The club had a data logger inside. It showed the temperature reached 46 °C on several afternoons and the soil moisture fell close to zero. The club knew photosynthesis needs light, water and carbon dioxide, and that enzymes in a plant work best in a narrow range of temperature. Above that range the enzymes stop working properly.

The club repeated the summer with the door propped open and a water bottle drip on each pot. Temperature peaked at 31 °C and the plants survived.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Name the variable the club changed the second time, and one variable they kept the same.
  2. Explain, using the words photosynthesis and enzymes, why the plants were damaged in July.
  3. Write a conclusion for the club's report, saying how far the evidence supports it.

  • Method and results

    Writing

    Write the aim, what you changed, what you measured and what you kept the same, then record your results in a table.

    1 page + results table

  • Conclusion

    Writing

    Explain what your results show and why, using the scientific words from the lesson. Say how you know you can trust them.

    6–8 sentences

  • Labelled diagram

    Diagram

    Draw the apparatus or the process in pencil, label it fully, and photograph it.

    1 labelled diagram

  • Reading and notes

    Reading

    Read the lesson text again and write the key ideas in your own words.

    Half a page of notes

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 16 · Watch & discover

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    Understand exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions and the reactivity series of metals

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