Practise Group 1 electron-structure questions by comparing shells and explaining why potassium loses its outer electron more easily.
Iron metal was discovered several thousand years ago. Iron is produced industrially from iron(III) oxide by extraction using carbon.
Sodium is a metal in Group 1 of the Periodic Table. Sodium was discovered by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1807. It is produced industrially by the electrolysis of sodium chloride.
Explain why the reactivity of metals in Group 1 increases from lithium to potassium.
- the outer electron in potassium is further away from the nucleus
- the outer electron in potassium is less strongly attracted by the nucleus
- the outer electron is more easily lost
Allow:
- reverse arguments
- potassium has more electron shells than lithium
- potassium is larger than lithium
- potassium has a greater atomic radius