How does the oxidising power of the group 1 metals vary?

The group one metals all have one electron in their outer shell, so are "electron donors". The further down the group one goes, the higher the electron shell containing the lone electron. The result of this is that this electron is held on to less tightly by the nucleus, and therefore the metals at the bottom of the group are more reactive than those at the top of the group.

AK

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

What is bond polarity and why does it exist?


Use the following data to explain why NaCl is soluble in water: ∆H = +31 kJmol-1, S(Na+(aq)) = 320.9 JK-1mol-1, S(Cl-(aq)) = 56.5 JK-1mol-1, S(NaCl(s)) = 72.1 JK-1mol-1 Are there any temperatures at which you would not expect NaCl to dissolve?


Which chemical would have a higher boiling point 1,3-dimethylbutane or hexane


Regarding the first ionisation energies, why do the values shown on the graph go down from magnesium to aluminium and then rise again from aluminium to silicon