GROUP II ELEMENTS

PHYSICAL
PROPERTIES OF
GROUP II
ELEMENTS
 ATOMIC RADIUS
• Atomic Radius increases as we descend group
II.

As we descend the group, the size of the atom

increases. The increase in nuclear charge causes the
inner orbitals to shield the outer electrons, causing the
electrons to be further away from the nucleus,
increasing the size of the atom.
 Variation in atomic radius for Group II

0.25

0.2
Atomic Radius/ nm

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
Be Mg Ca Sr Ba Ra
 IONIZATION ENERGY

• The first ionization energy decreases as you go

down the group.

Since the atomic radius increases down the group, the

outer electrons get further away from the nucleus and
less energy is required to remove an outer electron.
Thus, ionization energy decreases down the group.
 Variation in the First Ionization Energy of Group II

900

800

700
First Ionization Energy (kJ/mol)

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
Be Mg Ca Sr Ba Ra
 MELTING POINT

• Except for magnesium, the melting point falls as

you go down the group.

On moving down the group, the atomic and ionic radii

increase and there is less attraction between the
positive ions and the delocalized electrons in the
metallic structure. Thus, less energy is required to melt
the structure.
 Melting Point of Group II

1400

1200

1000
Melting Point/ C

800

600

400

200

0
Be Mg Ca Sr Ba Ra
CHEMICAL
REACTIONS
 REACTIONS WITH OXYGEN
• All group II elements react with oxygen to form
its metallic oxide. For example, Mg burns with a
brilliant flame in oxygen to produce MgO.
• All burn readily in oxygen; reactions are highly
exothermic, and reactivity increases down the
group. All the group II metals tarnish in air as a
layer of oxide is formed on the surface of the
metal.
REACTION
S WITH
OXYGEN
 Magnesium burning in pure
oxygen.
 REACTIONS WITH WATER

• Beryllium does not react with water while

magnesium reacts slowly.

Magnesium reacts rapidly with steam to form magnesium

oxide and hydrogen gas. It reacts slowly with water
producing a small amount of magnesium hydroxide. The
reaction soon stops as the magnesium hydroxide formed is
almost insoluble and forms a barrier on the magnesium
preventing further reaction.
 REACTIONS WITH WATER
•   •  

Magnesium Reaction with Steam Magnesium Reaction with Water

 REACTIONS WITH WATER
• Calcium, strontium, and barium all react with
cold water with increasing vigour to give the
metal hydroxide and hydrogen gas.
• The hydroxides formed are not very soluble, but
solubility increases down the group. Less
increases
precipitate is seen going down the group because
more of the hydroxide dissolves in the water.
 REACTIONS WITH ACIDS
• All the group II metals react with acids to produce
salts and hydrogen gas. For example, magnesium
reacts with hydrochloric acid to produce magnesium
chloride and hydrogen gas.
• The reactivity increases down the group. Calcium
reacts vigorously with acids while barium acts
violently. While sulphuric acid reacts with barium,
insoluble barium sulphate forms which coats the
metal surface and prevents the inner barium from
reacting.
 REACTIONS WITH ACIDS
 Magnesium reacting with Hydrochloric Acid.
SOLUBILITY OF
GROUP II
ELEMENTS
THE SOLUBILITY OF SULPHATES
• The
  solubility of the sulphates in group II decreases down the group.
Dissolving a group II sulphate involves three processes.

1. Reverse of lattice energy (-)

2. Enthalpy of hydration of the cation ()

3. Enthalpy of hydration of the anion ()

THE SOLUBILITY OF SULPHATES
•  
• Lattice energy is inversely proportional to the sum of the radius of the cation
and the radius of the anion. From this, if either ionic radius increases, lattice
energy decreases.
• The anion is constant since all the sulphates contain the anion. The cation
increases in size however this increase in size is negligible compared to the
large size of the anion. Thus, the increase in ionic radii is very small hence the
decrease in lattice energy is very small.
• As size of the cation increases down the group, the charge density decreases.
This decreases the forces of attraction which develop with polar water
molecules. Thus, the hydration decreases.
 TABLE
  Lattice Hydration Hydration  
SHOWING
enthalpy of enthalpy
of
of enthalpy
of
ENTHALPY
-2833 -1923 -1130 -220
OF CATIONS
-2653 -1583 -1130  
AND
-2603 -1450 -1130 +23 ANIONS
-2433 -1273 -1130 +30
THE SOLUBILITY OF SULPHATES

• Since the decrease in the reverse lattice energy is less when compared to the
decrease in hydration energy, the enthalpy of solution for the sulphates
becomes more positive going down the group. Therefore, the solubility of the
sulphates decreases down group II.
• If the dissolving process is exothermic, then the sulphate will be soluble, e.g.
magnesium sulphate. However, if the dissolving of the sulphate is
endothermic, it will be sparingly soluble in water, e.g. calcium sulphate.
 TABLE
SHOWING
THE
Solubility
in 100g
600 x 10-4 11 x 10-4 0.6 X 10-4 0.009 x 10-4
SOLUBILIT
Y OF
water

SULPHATES
THE SOLUBILITY OF CARBONATES

Solubility of the carbonates decreases going down the group. The

decrease in solubility is like that of the sulphates.
Ongoing down the group, the decrease in lattice energy is small
compared to the decrease in hydration energy. Thus, the reverse lattice
energy exceeds the hydration energy and the enthalpy of solution is
positive.
THE SOLUBILITY OF HYDROXIDES

• The solubility of the hydroxides increases going down the group.

Since the hydroxide ion is not as large as the sulphate or carbonate ions,
the lattice energy decreases significantly down the group. This outweighs
the change in the hydration energy so the solubility of the hydroxides of
group II elements decreases down the group.
THERMAL
STABILITY OF
GROUP II
ELEMENTS
 NITRATES
• The
  nitrates of group II undergo thermal decomposition to give the metal oxide, nitrogen
dioxide and oxygen. For example:

• Going down the group, the nitrates become more stable so higher temperatures re quired to
decompose them. This means that the thermal stability of the nitrates of the group II
elements increases down the group.
 CARBONATES
• The
  carbonates of group II undergo thermal decomposition to give the metal oxide and
carbon dioxide. For example:

The small double positive charged ions at the top of the group polarize the carbonate ions
more than the larger double positive charged ions at the bottom. Thus, the thermal stability of
the carbonates of the group II elements increases down the group.
USES OF GROUP II
ELEMENTS AND THEIR
COMPOUNDS
 • Magnesium is the most commonly used element in
group II. It is used to make lightweight alloys with
high tensile strength. Magnalium is an alloy of Mg
and Al. It is used in the manufacture of parts of for
cars and aircrafts.

MAGNESIUM • Magnesium oxide is used to make refractory lining

in furnaces because of its high melting point and
low reactivity. It is also used as a medication to
relieve heartburn and acid indigestion since it is
basic. In addition, it can be used as a mild laxative.
It is also used in beauty spas as a softening agent for
the hands and feet.
 • Calcium carbonate is used in the construction
industry as a building material. E.g. marble, or as an
ingredient of cement. It is widely used in medicine
as dietary calcium supplement and an antacid.
• Calcium carbonate, calcium oxide and calcium
CALCIUM hydroxide are used in agriculture to counteract soil
acidity. These are also used in water treatment to
reduce acidity and as flocculant. In the industry,
they are used in scrubbers to desulphurize waste
gases and to neutralize acidic effluents.
 • Calcium oxide also called quicklime reacts
exothermically with water to form calcium
hydroxide. The reaction produces enough heat to
ignite combustible materials in some instances.
• At high temperatures, salts of calcium, strontium
CALCIUM, and barium emit brilliant flame colours. Calcium
STRONTIUM salts produce a red colour while strontium salts
produce a crimson colour and barium salts produce
AND BARIUM a green colour. Compounds of these elements, for
example: Strontium Nitrate and Barium Nitrate,
are used in fireworks and coloured flares.
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