What is the general trend in the melting points of alkali metals as you move dow

What is the general trend in the melting points of alkali metals as you move down the group?

What is the general trend in the melting points of alkali metals as you move down the group?

Step 1: Understand what alkali metals are. They are the elements in Group 1 of the periodic table, like lithium, sodium, and potassium.
Step 2: Look at the melting points of these metals. Melting point is the temperature at which a solid becomes a liquid.
Step 3: Notice that as you go down the group from lithium to cesium, the melting points of these metals change.
Step 4: Realize that the melting points generally decrease as you move from lithium to cesium.
Step 5: Understand why this happens. As you go down the group, the size of the atoms increases.
Step 6: Recognize that larger atoms have weaker metallic bonds because the outer electrons are further from the nucleus.
Step 7: Conclude that weaker metallic bonds mean lower melting points, which is why alkali metals melt at lower temperatures as you go down the group.

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