Yes, zinc can displace lead ions from solution. This displacement reaction occurs because zinc is more reactive than lead when you look at the electrochemical series.
In this specific reaction, zinc (Zn) is solid and lead ions (Pb2+) are in an aqueous solution. When you combine these two, zinc will lose electrons (oxidation) while the lead ions gain electrons (reduction). The overall reaction can be represented as follows:
Zn (s) + Pb2+ (aq) → Zn2+ (aq) + Pb (s)
This means that solid zinc displaces lead ions from the solution, resulting in solid lead being formed and zinc ions going into the solution.
The reason this reaction occurs is tied to the placement of these elements in the expanded redox activity series. Zinc’s reaction:
Pb2+ (aq) + 2e- → Pb (s)
is located below the zinc reaction:
Zn2+ (aq) + 2e- → Zn (s)
This indicates that lead ions have a lower tendency to gain electrons compared to zinc, thus allowing zinc to effectively displace lead from its ionic state in the solution.