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Alkali metals



The alkaline metals are a series of elements comprising Group 1 (IUPAC style) of the periodic table: Lithium (Li),sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), cesium (Cs), and francium (Fr). (Note that hydrogen, although nominally also a member of Group 1, very rarely exhibits behavior comparable to the alkali metals). The alkali metals provide one of the best examples of group trends in properties in the periodic table, with well characterized homologous behavior down the group.

The alkali metals are all highly reactive and are rarely found in elemental form in nature. As a result, in the laboratory they are stored under mineral oil. They also tarnish easily and have low melting points and densities. Potassium and rubidium possess a weak radioactive characteristic (harmless) due to the presence of long duration radioactive isotopes.

The alkali metals are silver-colored (cesium has a golden tinge), soft, low-density metals, which react readily with halogens to form ionic salts, and with water to form strongly alkaline (basic) hydroxides. These elements all have one electron in their outermost shell, so the energetically preferred state of achieving a filled electron shell is to lose one electron to form a singly charged positive ion, or cation.

Hydrogen, with a solitary electron, is usually placed at the top of Group 1 of the periodic table, but it is not considered an alkali metal; rather it exists naturally as a diatomic gas. Removal of its single electron requires considerably more energy than removal of the outer electron for the alkali metals. As in the halogens, only one additional electron is required to fill in the outermost shell of the hydrogen atom, so hydrogen can in some circumstances behave like a halogen, forming the negative hydride ion. Binary compounds of hydride with the alkali metals and some transition metals have been prepared. Under extremely high pressure, such as is found at the core of Jupiter, hydrogen does become metallic and behaves like an alkali metal; see metallic hydrogen.

Alkali metals have the lowest ionization potentials in their respective periods, as removing the single electron from the outermost shell gives them the stable inert gas configuration. But their second ionization potentials are very high, as removing an electron from a species having a noble gas configuration is very difficult. Series of alkali metals, stored in mineral oil (note "natrium" is sodium.) Series of alkali metals, stored in mineral oil (note "natrium" is sodium.)

Alkali metals are famous for their vigorous reactions with water, and these reactions become increasingly violent as one moves down the group. The reaction with water is as follows:

Alkali metal + water → Alkali metal hydroxide + hydrogen gas

With potassium as an example: 2K (s) + 2H2O (l) → 2KOH (aq) + H2 (g)


Alkali metals


Chemical series of the periodic table


Alkali metals Alkali metals
Alkaline earth metals Alkaline earth metals
Lanthanides Lanthanides
Actinides Actinides
Transition metals Transition metals
Poor metals Poor metals
Metalloids Metalloids
Nonmetals Nonmetals
Halogens Halogens
Noble gases Noble gases

The periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular method of displaying the chemical elements. Although precursors to this table exist, its invention is generally credited to Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869. Mendeleev intended the table to illustrate recurring ('periodic') trends in the properties of the elements. The layout of the table has been refined and extended over time, as new elements have been discovered, and new theoretical models have been developed to explain chemical behavior.

The periodic table is now ubiquitous within the academic discipline of chemistry, providing an extremely useful framework to classify, systematize and compare all the many different forms of chemical behavior. The table has also found wide application in physics, biology, engineering, and industry. The current standard table contains 117 confirmed elements as of October 16, 2006 (while element 118 has been synthesized, element 117 has not).

  1. Arrangement
  2. Periodicity of chemical properties
  3. Structure of the periodic table
  4. History of the periodic table
  5. A list of who discovered each element



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