CH11 ALKALI

METALS
• Alkali Metals: Group 1 metals that includes: Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium,
Caesium and Francium.
 SIMILAR REACTIONS WITH WATER

• Group 1 metals will react similarly with water as they are a family of
elements called alkali metals
• They will react vigorously with water to produce an alkaline metal
hydroxide and hydrogen gas.
TREND OF REACTIVITY

• The Reactivity of Group 1 Metals will increase down the group

• As you go down the group, the observations during the reaction with air
and water becomes more vigorous
REACTION WITH AIR:
REACTION WITH WATER:
PREDICTING PROPERTIES

Properties of other Alkali Metals (Rubidium, Caesium and Francium):

• As the reactivity of alkali metals increases down the Group, Rubidium,
Caesium and Francium will react more vigorously with air and water
• Lithium will be the least reactive at the top and Francium will be the most
reactive at the bottom
• Francium is rare and radioactive so is difficult to confirm predictions
PREDICTED REACTION WITH WATER:
REACTIVITY TRENDS & ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATION
TREND IN REACTIVITY OF GROUP 1:

• Reactivity of group 1 metals increases as you go down the group.

• Each outer shell contains only one electron, when group 1 metals react,
they will lose one outer electron to get a full outer shell of electrons.
• As you go down group 1, the number of shells of electrons increases by 1
(period number increases down the periodic table).
• This means that the outer electron is further away from the nucleus so
there are weaker electrostatic forces of attraction.
• This requires less energy to overcome the electrostatic forces of attraction
between the negatively charged electron and the positively charged
nucleus.
• This allows the electron to be lost easily, making it more reactive as you
go down the group.