Group 1 (Alkali Metals)

This lesson covers:

  1. The properties of the alkali metals (group 1 elements)
  2. The reactions of group 1 metals with water, chlorine, and oxygen
  3. Why the reactivity of alkali metals increases as you go down the group 

Choose two properties of the Group 1 metals:

Unreactive

Soft

Hard

Reactive

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Trends in the chemical and physical properties of group 1 elements.


more / less / increase / decrease


  1. As you go down group 1, the metals become reactive.
  2. Their melting and boiling points .
more
decrease

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2

Explain why the reactivity of group 1 metals increases as you go down the group.

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3

Illustration showing an alkali metal reacting with water, producing flames.

Alkali metals react with water. Which two products are formed?

Metal oxide

Water

Oxygen

Hydrogen

Metal hydroxide

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2

The group 1 metals can react with the non-metals in group 7.


When sodium reacts with chlorine it forms an ionic salt called .


When solid, the normal colour of this salt is . 

sodium
chloride
white

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3

Some of the compounds formed when alkali metals react with oxygen can be a bit confusing. It's best to just memorise these ones:


  1. Lithium reacts with oxygen to form lithium oxide, Li2O.
  2. Sodium reacts with oxygen to form sodium oxide, Na2O or sodium peroxide, Na2O2. 
  3. Potassium reacts with oxygen to form potassium peroxide, K2O2, or potassium superoxide, KO2.