Alkali Metals

• What is the name of group 1 metals?

  The Alkali metals, they form alkaline solutions when they react with water.
• What are the properties of the Alkali metals?

  - they are very soft and can be cut into with a knife

  - they have low densities and melting / boiling points

  - they are very reactive
• What is the formula for a group 1 metal reacting with water?

  group 1 metal + water = metal hydroxide + hydrogen
• What are the trends that are in group 1?

  - melting and boiling points decrease as you go down the group

  - density increases as you go down the group

  - reactivity increases as you go down the group

  - they become softer as you go down the group
• Why does the reactivity of group 1 metals increase as you go down the group?

  - as you go down the group, the number of electron shells that the metal has increases

  - this means that there is a weaker electrostatic force of attraction between the positive nucleus and the electron in the outermost shell

  - so less energy is needed to overcome that weak force, and the electron is lost more easily