C2.3 Group 1 - The Alkali Metals Flashcards
What is the 1st group called?
➢ The alkali metals
What are the first 4 elements in group 1?
➢ Lithium ➢ Sodium ➢ Potassium ➢ Rubidium ➢ Caesium
Why are alkali metals stored in oil?
➢ Stops them reacting with oxygen
What is the trend of the alkali metals?
➢ Reactivity increases as you go down
What is the density of the Alkali metals?
➢ Very low compared to other mtals
What are the phyiscal properties of group 1?
➢ Soft
➢ Shiny surface when you cut them
➢ Can be cut with a knife
➢ The shiny surface quickly goes dull when reacted with oxygen in the air
What color smoke does alkali metals make?
➢ White smoke
Why is group 1 very reactive?
➢ Because they only need to lose one electron to get the stable electronic structure of a noble gas
Why doe the reactivity of Group 1 elements increases as you go down the group?
➢ The atoms get larger as you go down the group
➢ The outer electron gets further from the nucleus as you go down the group
➢ The attraction between the nucleus and outer electron gets weaker as you go down the group - so the electron is more easily lost
What is the trend of melting points and boiling points of group 1 metals?
➢ Going down the group the melting points and boiling points gets lower
What can you observe when you react group 1 metals with water?
➢ Metal floats on water
➢ Moving around and fizzing
Why does the fizzing happen when the alkali metals react with water?
➢ Because of the metal reacting with water to make hydrogen gas
What does the reaction between an alkali metal and water make?
➢ Metal hydroxide
What does a metal + chlorine make?
➢ Metal chloride
