Why some metals form oxides and some hydroxides when reacts with water. Why is this so ?

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Cold water and the metals sodium, potassium, and calcium quickly react to form hydroxides. Magnesium reacts with hot water rather than cold water to form hydroxide. Oxides are produced when zinc, aluminium, and steam react . Cold water and iron react very slowly and may take days to complete.

It varies from metal to metal ,sodium and potassium on reaction form hydroxide due to their strong nature .

Thank you

The reaction of metals with water depends on their reactivity. Highly reactive metals like sodium and magnesium react with cold water, forming stable hydroxides. Less reactive metals, such as iron, react with steam, initially forming unstable hydroxides that break down into iron oxide and water. If iron reacts with cold water, it won't produce hydroxide; instead, it would form iron oxide. So, the outcome is influenced by metal reactivity, external factors like temperature, and product stability.

Metals such as sodium, potassium, calcium react vigorously with water to form metal hydroxides and hydrogen gas. They are highly reactive and can displace hydrogen from water molecules, resulting in the formation of metal hydroxide. (Eg: NaOH). Whereas some metals like iron, zinc reacts with water but at a slow rate and usually form metal oxides and hydrogen gas instead of hydroxide. Unlike highly reactive metals, these may not displace hydrogen from water. Thus, they form metal oxides.( eg: Fe2O3).

Hii There,

Metals exhibit varied reactions with water and steam, resulting in the formation of metal hydroxide and hydrogen gas in water, and metal oxide along with hydrogen when reacting with steam. The extent of reactivity dictates whether metals will react with cold water, hot water, steam, or remain unreactive. Highly reactive metals such as sodium and magnesium can readily react with water, yielding stable hydroxides in solution with strong alkaline properties. In contrast, less reactive metals, like iron, only engage in a reaction with steam, initially forming a hydroxide that lacks thermal stability.

I hope this answers your question.

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