What happens when you place a less active metal in a solution of ions of a more active metal?

First, let's understand what metal activity is. Metal activity is the measure of a metal's reactivity and its ability to lose electrons during chemical reactions. The reactivity series, also known as the activity series, is a list of metals arranged in the order of their reactivity, from most reactive to least reactive. The higher a metal is in the reactivity series, the more likely it is to lose electrons and form positive ions.

Since we know that we have a less active metal in a solution containing ions of a more active metal, the first thing we need to do is determine the reactivity of these metals in the reactivity series. In general, the reactivity series can be represented as follows: \(K > Na > Ca > Mg > Al > Zn > Fe > Pb > H > Cu > Ag > Au \) Here, K (potassium) is the most reactive, and Au (gold) is the least reactive. Let's assume our less active metal (M1) to be Copper (Cu) and the more active metal ions (M2) in the solution to be Zinc ions (Zn+2). According to the reactivity series: \(Zn > Cu\)

Now, we can predict whether a reaction will occur or not when we place a less active metal in a solution of ions of a more active metal. Since Zinc is more reactive than Copper, it is more likely to lose electrons and form positive ions. However, Copper being less reactive will not have the tendency to lose electrons and form positive ions in the presence of more reactive Zinc ions. Therefore, no reaction will take place when a less active metal (Copper) is placed in a solution of ions of a more active metal (Zinc ions). In general, if M1 is a less active metal and M2 is a more active metal, then the reaction between them can be represented as: \(M1 + M2^{+} \nrightarrow \mathrm{No\ Reaction} \) (if M2 is more reactive than M1) So, for our case with Copper and Zinc ions: \(Cu + Zn^{2+} \nrightarrow \mathrm{No\ Reaction}\) To summarize, when a less active metal is placed in a solution of ions of a more active metal, no reaction occurs because the less active metal is less likely to lose electrons in the presence of the more active metal ions.