Teacher Notes

Periodicity of Metals (With Alkaline Earth Metals)

What is that white gunk on the sides of my glass after I wash it?
Standards Addressed: 3a, 3d, 3e and 7b.
Purchasing (prices from 2012):
FLINN SCIENTIFIC
C0345
L0024
M0212
S0232
U0001

Calcium, turnings, 10g

Lithium, stick, 10g
Magnesium, granules, 100g
Sodium, reagent, 25g
Universal Indicator, 100mL

6.05
30.71
15.85
19.21
7.85

GALLIUMSOURCE.com
020
050

Potassium, 10g
Strontium, 100g

85.00
45.00

Notes:
1. Magnesium and calcium turnings are easily dispensed, although the
calcium must be protected from excessive oxidation. Strontium granules
(as supplied from Aldrich) are too big and very time intensive to cut. We
are currently looking for a source of strontium ribbon.
2. Calcium and strontium both react with water almost instantaneously with
water, so the added vinegar makes a slight difference in reactivity.
3. Although students can safely work with lithium under no circumstances
should they work with sodium or potassium.
4. Sodium and potassium should always be purchased in very small
quantities. Flinn Scientific sells precut demonstration sized pieces of
sodium and potassium. Sodium and potassium demonstration pieces
should be about the size of a lentil.
5. This demonstration should be practiced several times before being done
in front of the class. If the metal sample is to big it will pop/explode out of
the beaker sending molten metal a few feet in all directions. The molten
metal is severely caustic. Many instructors place a safety shield around
the demonstration to keep the metal fragments away from students.
6. If a piece the size of a walnut is used the metal will violently explode
sending molten metal and glass (from the beaker) ten to twenty feet in all
directions. The demonstration is safe, if small pieces (the size of a lentil)
are used.

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Teacher Key

Periodicity of Metals (With Alkaline Earth Metals)

What is that white gunk on the sides of my glass after I wash it?
Background:
Many people these days filter their water or drink bottled water. Why? You
may also have heard of hard water. What does that mean and how does it
happen. Water is filtered or softened in order to reduce the amount of the
effect of dissolved minerals in the water. Some of the most common of these
are the alkaline earth metals, particularly magnesium and calcium. These are
the elements responsible for that white film that ends up on glassware after
washing. It is the result of the reaction of pure metallic elements with water
to produce relatively insoluble compounds of the metals called hydroxides.
Purpose:
We will investigate three elements in the same family of the periodic table.
Calcium, magnesium and strontium are in the alkali-earth metal family. Look
at a periodic table and locate these three elements in relation to each other.
Materials required (student group)
magnesium, calcium,
strontium turnings
~0.1g piece of lithium
Vinegar
Universal indicator solution
deionized water
balloon

Stanford University

Page 2 of 6

rubber stopper with attached

delivery pipette
50mL graduated cylinder
5- 100mL beakers
mass balance
3- 50 mL beakers
Stopwatch or timer of some
sort

Materials required (instructor):

Small pieces of sodium and potassium for demonstration.
2 large beakers for sodium and potassium demonstration.
Part A: Alkaline Earth Metals
Q1. Examine the three different metal samples. Identify some similarities and
differences amongst the three samples. They are solid and fairly hard. They
look different.
Procedure:
1. Into each of the three 50 mL beakers measure 35mL of deionized
water
2. Add 20 drops of universal indicator and 5 drops of vinegar to each of
the beakers from step 1.
3. Place 2 large pieces of calcium into the first 100mL beaker.
4. Place 2 similar sized pieces of magnesium into the second 100mL
beaker.
5. Using tweezers, obtain 2 similar sized pieces of strontium and use a
tissue to clean the oil off of them. Place the cleaned strontium in the
third 100mL beaker. At this point you should have three dry 100mL
beakers containing different metal samples and three identical 50mL
each containing 35mL of water, 5drops of vinegar and 10 drops of
indicator. The smaller 50mL beakers should be red at this point.
Confirm this before moving on.
6. This step requires some teamwork. Read completely before executing.
One team member should be responsible for timing and announcing
start of this step. Each of the other team members should be
responsible for one of the pairs of metals and solution. On the timers
mark all team members should pour their vinegar solution into the
100mL beaker containing their metal sample. The timer should start
timing at this point as well. Each team member should start swirling as
soon as the vinegar solution is poured into the metal. When a purpleblue color forms the reaction is considered over. Record the time at this
point. Fill in the table below.
Element

Observations (Evidence of
Reaction)

Magnesi
um

Indicator
Response
Time
64,800
seconds

Fine stream of bubbles

Reactivi
ty
Ranking
3

Calcium

20 seconds

Bubbles after 10 seconds

Strontiu
m

8 seconds

Bubbles immediately

Q2 What evidence do you have of a reaction for all three metals? They all
produced bubbles and they changed the indicator blue, although the
magnesium took a day.
Q3 Describe the difference between the three metals in terms of the
reaction
evidence in Q2. Strontium produced bubbles of gas immediately and the
indicator changed color in 8 seconds. The calcium reacted the same way, but
was a little slower. The magnesium produced a fine stream of barely visible
bubbles and took a day to change the color of the indicator.
Q4 Rank the three metals in terms of the speed of their response time for
the color change and the evidence you identified in Q2. Do these rankings
match? Strontium changed the indicator quickly and the magnesium was the
slowest. Strontium produced bubbles quickly and the magnesium was very
slow. In both cases the calcium was intermediate. In both cases, Strontium
ranked #1, calcium #2 and finally magnesium #3.
Q5 What is the ratio of response time between strontium and calcium. 8:20
or 2:5.
7. At this point you may have noticed that the magnesium still hasnt
changed color and may be wondering if it really is reacting in the same
manner as the other two. Remember that in the background section we
defined a buffer as a barrier so were going to check now if the
magnesium reacts with water in the absence of the barrier. Pour about
40mL of deionized water into a new 100mL beaker and add 10 drops of
the indicator solution. Use forceps (tweezers) to pick one of the pieces
of magnesium out of the reaction beaker and transfer it to the new
water and indicator solution.
8. Observe the solution near the piece of magnesium. Does it change
color in the same manner as the calcium and strontium did earlier?
Yes, the Mg changed after a day.
Part B: Solubility of Alkaline Earth Metal Hydroxides
Solubility can most simply be imagined as how much of one material will
dissolve into a given amount of solvent. One unit for measuring this is parts
per million (ppm) meaning one particle of the dissolved thing in every million
particles in the mixture. Solubilities for the products of the reaction in Part A
are as follows: magnesium hydroxide2 ppm, calcium hydroxide--- 193 ppm,
and strontium hydroxide---775 ppm. These metals may react with water

easily, but the resulting compounds often fall out of solution and remain as
white films, rimes or crusts on pipes, glassware or pretty much anything they
come in contact with.
Q6 Examine the solutions containing the calcium and strontium. Comment
on the clarity of each solution (is it clear and transparent or cloudy) and the
solubility of the hydroxides of each metal. The strontium solution is clear and
blue, while the calcium is blue and cloudy.
9. Cover the strontium containing beaker with parafilm leaving a small
opening that a delivery pipette might fit through. (This is to form a
splash shield for step 11)
10.
Inflate a balloon and without letting it deflate insert the delivery
pipette or rubber stopper into the inflation tube of the balloon.
11.
Insert the delivery tip of the delivery pipette into the strontium
containing solution while maintaining a seal on the balloon and then
slowly release the air in the balloon as bubbles into the solution.
Q7 What happens to the clarity of the strontium solution when the carbon
dioxide in your breath is bubbled through it? It also becomes cloudy.
Q8 What are the ratios of solubilities for each of the hydroxides?
Magnesium (2ppm), Calcium (193ppm) and Strontium (775ppm), so the
ratio is 2 : 193 : 775.

What metallic elements do you use at home? Iron is used as an inexpensive,

strong metal that kitchen pans are made of. Iron will easily rust, if it is damp
and stay wet so it is said to be moderately reactive.Gold and silver are used
for jewelry, because they do not rust or tarnish, like iron does, and so are
considered unreactive. Some metals are even more reactive than iron. Is it
possible to predict how reactive a metallic element is compared to another?
The far left side of the periodic table contains elements that are very
reactive. They react with oxygen and water.
Q9 How do the ratios of solubilities compare to the ratios of response times
from Part A?
The strontium was clear, which meant that the hydroxide was soluble, which
makes sense with a solubility of 775 ppm. The calcium was cloudy, because
not all of it dissolved (193ppm).
Q10 Using the idea that a faster response time indicates more reactivity.
Rank the reactivity of the Alkaline earth metals and compare that to
solubility of the hydroxides. Is there a correlation? Yes, the more reactive the
alkaline-earth metal, the more soluble the hydroxide.

Part C: Alkali Metals

Q11. Lets shift our attention from the alkali-earth metals to the alkali metals.
Locate the elements lithium, potassium and sodium on the periodic table.
Based on your conclusion with your work involving calcium, magnesium and
strontium predict a ranking for the reactivity of lithium, sodium and
potassium.
12. Obtain a 100mL beaker and fill it half full with water and add ten
drops of universal indicator solution. Drop a piece of lithium metal into
the water and record your results in the table below.
13. Your instructor will demonstrate the reactions of sodium and
potassium metals with water. Record your observations of sodium and
water reacting with each other in the table below. Repeat with
potassium and water.
Element
Indicator
Observations
Reactivi
Response
ty
Time
Ranking
Lithium
4 seconds
Produces bubbles very quickly.
3
Sodium
Potassiu
m

Immediate
Immediate

Floats on water and moves

around fizzing

Same as sodium, but catches on

fire.

Q12. Was your prediction ranking the reactivites of lithium, sodium and
potassium correct? Explain. My prediction was correct. Strontium was the
most reactive in the alkaline-earth metal family and it was at the bottom of
the column. Magnesium was the least reactive and at the top of the column. I
assumed the same thing would happen in the alkali metal family. Potassium
would be the most reactive and lithium the least reactive of the three metals.
Q13. For each of the following pairs of metals describe how the reactivity
changes from the alkali earth metals (2nd column) to the alkali metals (1st
column).
Magnesium to sodium Sodium was the most reactive
Calcium to potassium Potassium was the most reactive
Q14. Based on the results of this activity write a rule explaining how the
reactivity of metals is related to their position on the periodic table.
(Specifically relate change in reactivity to movement both horizontally and
vertically.) As you move down a column the reactivity of the element
increases. As you move horizontally to the left the reactivity of the element
increases.