Li+ CuCl2 --> reaction occurs
Zn+NaNO3 --> no reaction
is that because juss basically Li is an active metal and Zn is not?
when one displaces another (single displacement), does it have to be an active metal to displace another?
or any other reason?
This reaction is single displacement reaction. In these reactions more active metals replaced by another. If metal is less active no replacement takes place. Here is the table I got from Wikipedia:
Metals Metal Ion Reactivity Li Li+ reacts with waterK K+ Ba Ba2+ Sr Sr2+ Ca Ca2+ Na Na+ Mg Mg2+ reacts with acidsH H+ Al Al3+ Mn Mn2+ Zn Zn2+ Cr Cr2+ Fe Fe2+ Cd Cd2+ Co Co2+ Ni Ni2+ Sn Sn2+ Pb Pb2+ H2 H+ included for comparison Sb Sb3+ highly unreactive Bi Bi3+ Cu Cu2+ Hg Hg2+ Ag Ag+ Pt Pt+ Au Au3+