Determining the Activity Series with the Fewest Experiments Using Sorting Algorithms

Determining the activity series of a collection of elements is a classic pedagogical experiment, in which pairs of elements are reacted to determine the relative rank ordering of their reactivity. Determining the optimal sequence of pairwise experiments that minimizes the total number of experiments corresponds to well-known comparison sorting algorithms in computer science. We describe relevant algorithms (insertion sort, binary insertion sort, merge sort, and merge insertion sort) and their application to the activity series problem and discuss ways that this connection can contribute to the introductory chemistry and computer science curricula. In addition to pedagogical interest, this illustrates a simple form of artificial intelligence for chemical experiment planning.