The Periodic Table

Group 1 Metals: 

• Lithium  

• Sodium 

• Potassium 

• Rubidium 

• Caesium 

• Francium 

Group 1 Metals are the most reactive metals, are similar to most metals but also have distinctive properties of their own. 

They are good heat conductors which means they allow heat to pass through them, and are also good electrical conductors meaning they allow electrical currents to pass through them. 

To prevent alkali metals from oxidising and becoming tarnished by the air, they are stored under oil which stops the air from coming into contact with them. 

All alkali metals form ions with a single positive charge, because they only have one electron to give away. 

Alkali metals are very soft, and not very strong. Lithium is the easiest to cut. The further down the group you go, the softer the elements become. Alkali metals have quite low melting points. They also have a very low density. 

Alkali metals have no use as construction materials. 

Group 1 Reactivity 

Lithium – Lithium fizzes, producing bubbles. Lithium burns rapidly. 

Sodium – produces hydrogen quicker than lithium. Energy produced melts sodium – molten sodium. 

When the elements in Group 1 react with water, they all produce the same products. For example, when sodium reacts with water it produces, sodium hydroxide and hydrogen, the same as when lithium reacts with water it will produce lithium hydroxide and hydrogen. 

As you move further down Group 1, the reactions with water become increasingly spectacular. The reaction caesium has is violently explosive. 

As you move down Group 1, the reactivity of the elements increases. 

As you move down Group 1, the atoms get larger, which means the force between the nucleus and electron on the outer shell is weaker, increasing its reactivity. 

Group 1 metals can react with the elements in Group 7, the Halogens. 

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