What is the gas that if formed when a reactive metal is placed in a salt solution of a less reactive metal? Theoretically, it should just be a simple displacement.
I know that this question has been asked on a different page, but there Hydrogen formation was the accepted answer, which I don't think is the case (see observations).
Observations:
When a strip of magnesium ribbon was placed in a concentrated copper sulfate solution, the magnesium ribbon piece started bubbling.
Magnesium didn't bubble as violently when placed in plain water of the same temperature.
The gas was bubbled through a soap solution and the bubble was passed near a candle flame. It just popped and nothing happened.
Pure hydrogen gas was obtained by placing a Mg ribbon in acid, and bubbles were obtained. These exploded with a bang when passed over a flame (learnt the hard way not to do this!).
Regular distilled water was used everywhere.
Thanks a lot in advance for any help.