Group 1 elements
- The Group 1 elements are known as the alkali metals
- They form alkaline solutions when they react with water
- The Group 1 metals are lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium and francium and they are found in the first column of the periodic table
- The alkali metals share similar characteristic chemical properties because they each have one electron in their outermost shell
- Some of these properties are:
- They are all soft metals which can easily be cut with a knife
- They have relatively low densities and low melting points
- They are very reactive (they only need to lose one electron to become highly stable)
Group 1 elements in the Periodic Table
The alkali metals lie on the far left of the periodic table, in the very first group