A single displacement reaction is a reaction when a compound reacts with an element (eg. A + BC → AC + B). For the reaction to occur, the element replacing that in the compound must be more reactive. A metal can replace a metal and a non metal can replace a non metal, but a non metal can not replace a metal and vice versa. When metals are reacting, we use the activity series and when non metals are switching, the periodic table is used to determine if the reaction will happen.
A simple everyday example is acid indigestion. We can relieve the distress when the stomach produces too much
HCl by drinking a solution of sodium hydrogen carbonate. The H in the HCI
displaces the Na in NaHCO/3 to produce
H/2CO/3.
