What is the primary reason for the increasing reactivity of alkali metals down the group?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the primary reason for the increasing reactivity of alkali metals down the group?
Increasing atomic size
Decreasing ionization energy
Increasing electronegativity
Increasing metallic character
The reactivity of alkali metals increases down the group due to decreasing ionization energy.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: What is the primary reason for the increasing reactivity of alkali metals down the group?
Solution: The reactivity of alkali metals increases down the group due to decreasing ionization energy.
Steps: 6
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: Know that reactivity means how easily an element can react with other substances.
Step 3: Learn about ionization energy. This is the energy needed to remove an electron from an atom.
Step 4: Realize that alkali metals have one electron in their outer shell, which they want to lose to become stable.
Step 5: Recognize that as you go down the group from lithium to cesium, the ionization energy decreases. This means it takes less energy to remove that outer electron.
Step 6: Conclude that because it is easier to remove the outer electron, alkali metals become more reactive as you go down the group.
