alkali metals

• alkali metals are soft, have low density, low melting points
• the outer electron is more easily lost as the atraction between the nucleus and the electron decreases because the electron is further away from the nucleus the further down the group you go
• as you go down group one, the elements have lower melting and boiling points and higher relative atomic mass.
• when group one mentals are put in water they react very vigorously
• lithium, sodium and potassium float and move around the surface, fizzing furiously
• they produce hydrogen. The amount of energy given out when they react increases down the group. For potassium and below in the group there is enough energy to ignite hydrogen
• They also form hydroxides that dissolve in water to give alkaline solutions
• Group one metals react vigorously when heated in chlorine gas to form white salts called metal chlorides.
• As you go down, reactivity increases so the reaction with chlorine gets more vigorous
• The group one metals can react with oxygen to form metal oxide, different types of oxide will form depending on the group one metal
• lithium reacts to form lithium oxide (Li2 0)
• Sodium reacts to form a mixture of sodium oxide (Na2 O) and sodium peroxide (Na2 O2)
• Potassium reacts to form a mixture of potassium peroxide (K2 O2) and potassium superoxide (KO2)