How do different

metals react to
hydrochloric acid on
a scale one to five?
Introduction
Acids are substances that do things like react with some metals by liberating hydrogen
or change the taste of foods or drinks. There are many different types of acid like
battery acid or lemon juice. Acids have different levels on the pH scale. The pH scale is
a scale that shows how acidic or base something is. This knowledge will help
conducting the experiment because understanding acids will help predict which metals
will react the most.
 The pH scale

Variables
Independent variable Hydrochloric acid
Dependent variable The metals (copper magnesium aluminum and zinc)
Controlled variables Quantities of metals.
Quantities of acid.
Time the metal is in the acid.
 Aim
To observe the effects of Hydrochloric acid on Different metals including magnesium ribbon,
zinc, copper and aluminum.

Hypothesis
It is expected that magnesium ribbon and zinc will react the most violently when the metals are
put into contact with hydrochloric acid.

Equipment List
• 12 x Glass test tubes
• 3 x pairs Nitrile gloves
• 3 x 1L of hydrochloric- acid
• 3 x 30 grams of Magnesium Ribbon
• 3 x 30 grams of Copper
• 3 x 30 grams of Aluminium
• 3 x 30 grams of Zinc
 Risk Assessment
•

Risk Precaution Management

Hands getting acid on Nitrile gloves What do I put here
them
Acid exploding Teacher supervision and
research
Acid spilling Test tube holder
Student error A Teacher poured the
acid

Method
1. Prepare area and materials for the experiment.
2. Measure out 30 grams of each metal and put them into individual test tubes.
3. Pour Hydrochloric acid into one of the test tubes.
4. observe and record the reactions and put the information into a table of results.
5. Repeat step three to four until you have finished testing all the metals.
6. Put the metals away in a safe space to view on the next day once you have finished
testing them all.
7. Observe the metals then dispose of the acid in a safe way.
8. If time allows, then repeat one to seven 2 more times to find an average. (We
weren’t able to do so)

Diagram
NOTE this is a possible reaction.

Results
Metal Zinc Aluminium Copper Magnesium
Ribbon
Reaction Strong bubbling Becomes shiny Becomes Strong, violent
phase, Lasts - and polished. shiny and reaction. Bubbling
5.5 mins Metal oxide layer polished. and smoke emitting
Dissolves after removed. Metal oxide from the lip of the
6 mins. Slightly Becomes layer test tube. Dissolved
warm on crinklier. removed. fully after 3 seconds
bottom. Dissolved day Didn’t Very hot during the
Darkened after dissolve reaction.
before
dissolving.
Water is very
opaque during
the bubbling
phase.

Rating 4/5 3/5 1/5 5/5

(/5)
Figure1: table of results.
Note: Creating an average was not possible because of a communication error between the
students and teacher who helped us with the acid.

Graph

Figure 2: graph of results.

Discussion
Refer to the marking criteria for detailed criteria

Here is the generic scaffold we have used in class during our practical. It may be useful here.
An experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of hydrochloric acid on different metals
on a scale of one to five. It was found that the magnesium ribbon reacted the most violently to
hydrochloric acid with it creating smoke, heat and bubbles. It was also found out that zinc was
the second most violent with some bubbling and heat generated while aluminum just
dissolved, and copper became shinier. The results supported the hypothesis. One explanation
for this difference is that the more common metals (copper and aluminum) are more stable
while the rarer metals (zinc and magnesium ribbon) are less stable and therefore react more
violently. The experiment wasn’t accurate because we were unable to create an average This
could be improved by better communicating with the teachers. The experiment was valid
because while there was not an average the results are accurate and were conducted soundly.
This could be improved by generating an average. This experiment was not very reliable
because there was not an average for each of the metals. The experiment be improved by
conducting the experiment multiple times to create an average. Other sources of error
experienced during this practical included communication error between the teacher and
students and a lack of time to fix previous errors. These errors could be minimized in the future
by planning ahead better and communicating with the helping teacher better. IN the future this
experiment should be changed to make more qualitative data by measuring something like the
heat of the acid when it is with the metals.

Conclusion
An investigation into how different metals react to hydrochloric acid on a scale one to five was
conducted. It was found that more rarer metals reacted more violently when in contact with
hydrochloric acid while more common metals reacted less violently. The experiment was
successful because we found out how different metals reacted to hydrochloric acid. It was
hypothesized that zinc and magnesium ribbon would react the most violently] and it was
correct. In future experiments, the tests should be conducted multiple times to create an
average and in a way that will produce more quantitative data like testing how hot the acid
would get or something similar.

References
Australia EPA (2016-09) “hydrochloric acid”

[Link]

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. "Hydrogen chloride". Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 May. 2020,
[Link]
National Center for Biotechnology Information. "PubChem Compound Summary for CID 313,
Hydrochloric acid" PubChem,
[Link]