Which of the following alkaline earth metals is the least reactive? (2022)
Practice Questions
Q1
Which of the following alkaline earth metals is the least reactive? (2022)
Barium
Calcium
Magnesium
Strontium
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
Which of the following alkaline earth metals is the least reactive? (2022)
Step 1: Understand what alkaline earth metals are. They are a group of elements in the second column of the periodic table, including Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), Strontium (Sr), Barium (Ba), and Radium (Ra).
Step 2: Know that reactivity in metals generally increases as you move down the group in the periodic table.
Step 3: Recognize that Magnesium (Mg) is higher up in the group compared to the other alkaline earth metals.
Step 4: Learn about ionization energy, which is the energy required to remove an electron from an atom. Higher ionization energy means the element is less likely to react.
Step 5: Compare the ionization energies of the alkaline earth metals. Magnesium has a higher ionization energy than Calcium, Strontium, Barium, and Radium.
Step 6: Conclude that since Magnesium has the highest ionization energy among the alkaline earth metals, it is the least reactive.