The most chemically reactive metal elements are the alkali metals. They react
spontaneously with water or other substances in the atmosphere and must be stored under oil.
a. What type of reactions will these metals undergo?
b. Explain why these metals are so reactive in the type of reactions from part a.
I assume you are thinking of "synthesis" for a but a question like this can have so many different meanings. But I'll go with synthesis type reactions such as
Na + O2 ==> Na2O2--synthesis.
BUT Na + H2O ==> H2 + NaOH--single replacement. You figure it out.
They react this way because of the electron sructure.
Which of the following groups are indicative of anionic polymerization?
a)F
b)Cl
c)3
d)H
e)CH2CH3
a. The alkali metals will undergo single displacement reactions when they react with water or other substances in the atmosphere. In these reactions, the metal atoms replace the hydrogen atoms in water or other compounds, forming metal hydroxides or salts.
b. The alkali metals are highly reactive in these types of reactions due to their electronic structure. In their outermost energy level, they have only one electron, which is loosely held. This makes them highly prone to losing that electron and forming a positive ion.
When alkali metals react with water, the single valence electron is easily lost, resulting in the formation of a positively charged alkali metal ion (cation) and hydroxide ions (OH-) from the water. This produces an exothermic reaction, releasing heat, and hydrogen gas is also produced.
The reactivity of alkali metals is mainly influenced by their low ionization energy and low electronegativity. Ionization energy is the energy required to remove an electron from an atom, and electronegativity is the tendency of an atom to attract electrons. The alkali metals have low ionization energy because the outermost electron is relatively far from the positively charged nucleus, and they also have low electronegativity due to the large atomic size and shielding effect from inner electron shells.
Because of these low ionization energy and low electronegativity, the alkali metals readily lose their valence electron and form positive ions. This electron loss results in a more stable electronic configuration, usually resembling that of a noble gas. The strong desire to achieve a stable electronic configuration drives their reactivity and allows them to easily and vigorously react with water and other substances in the atmosphere.