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# reactivity

«reactivity» in Mova's school dictionary: **How easily and how strongly a substance takes part in…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (reactivity, uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (science, chemistry) How easily and how strongly a substance takes part in chemical reactions: «Potassium has high reactivity.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reactivity/#m1)

2) (science, psychology) How strongly a person or body reacts to something, such as stress or an allergy trigger. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reactivity/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons metals are put in a «reactivity series» from most reactive (potassium, sodium) to least (gold, platinum); this explains why gold does not rust and why sodium fizzes in water. Phrases: «reactivity series», «high reactivity», «low reactivity».

### examples

- Potassium is at the top of the reactivity series. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reactivity/#x1)
- Gold has very low reactivity, so it stays shiny for centuries. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reactivity/#x2)
- We tested the reactivity of metals in acid. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reactivity/#x3)
- Sodium's high reactivity makes it fizz and dart about on water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reactivity/#x4)
- Iron's reactivity with water and air makes it rust. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reactivity/#x5)
- Some children have high reactivity to pollen. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reactivity/#x6)

### note

Uncountable. Adjective: reactive; opposite: unreactive (inert). A handy reactivity order: potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, (carbon), zinc, iron, (hydrogen), copper, silver, gold. Safety: very reactive metals are handled only by teachers.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «reactivity» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reactivity/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.