Group 1 (Alkali Metals) (Edexcel IGCSE Chemistry)

• The Group 1 metals 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 

Reaction with water

• The reaction of the Group 1 metals with water provides evidence for categorising these elements into the same chemical family
• The general pattern shown is:

Group 1 metal + water ⟶  metal hydroxide + hydrogen

      2M (s) + 2H₂O (l) ⟶ 2MOH (aq) + H₂ (g) 

where M is Li, Na, K, Rb or Cs

• The hydroxides formed all have the same general formula and are colourless, aqueous solutions
• The metals are so named because they form alkalis in water

• The differences between the reactions of the group 1 metals with water and oxygen provide evidence of trends within the group

Reactions with water

• The reactions of the alkali metals with water get more vigorous as you descend the group

Summary of the reactions of the first three alkali metals with water

Element	Reaction	Observations
Li	lithium  + water   →   lithium hydroxide  +  hydrogen  2Li (s)  +  2H2O (l)   →   2LiOH (aq)  +   H2 (g)	Relatively slow reaction Fizzing Lithium moves on the surface of the water
Na	sodium + water   →   sodium hydroxide  +  hydrogen  2Na (s)  +  2H2O (l)   →   2NaOH (aq)   +   H2 (g)	More vigorous fizzing  Moves rapidly on the surface of the water Dissolves quickly
K	potassium  + water   →   potassium hydroxide  +  hydrogen  2K (s)  +  2H2O (l)   →   2KOH (aq)  +   H2 (g)	Reacts more vigorously than sodium  Burns with a lilac flame  Moves very rapidly on the surface  Dissolves very quickly

Reactions with oxygen

• The alkali metals react with oxygen in the air forming metal oxides, which is why the alkali metals tarnish when exposed to the air
• The metal oxide produced is a dull coating which covers the surface of the metal
• The metal tarnish more rapidly as you go down the group

Summary of the reactions of the first three alkali metals with oxygen

Element	Reaction
Li	lithium + oxygen → lithium oxide  4Li (s)  +  O2 (g)   →   2Li2O (s)
Na	sodium + oxygen → sodium oxide  4Na (s)  +  O2 (g)   →   2Na2O (s)
K	potassium  + oxygen →  potassium oxide  4K (s)  +  O2 (g)   →   2K2O (s)

Physical trends

• Apart from the chemical trends there are also patterns to be seen in the physical properties
• The alkali metals are soft and easy to cut, getting softer as you move down the group
• The first three alkali metals are less dense than water
• They all have relatively low melting points which decrease as you move down the group, due to decreasing attractive forces between outer electrons and positive ions

Graph to show the physical trends in Group 1

The melting point of the Group 1 metals decreases as you descend the group

• Following these trends, we can say that:
  • Rubidium, caesium and francium will react even more vigorously with air and water than the first three alkali metals

• Of the alkali metals, lithium is the least reactive (as it is at the top of Group 1) and francium would be the most reactive (as it’s at the bottom of Group 1)
• Using the information given in the trends we would predict that rubidium:
  • would be a soft grey solid
  • appears shiny when freshly cut
  • is more dense than potassium (> 0.86 g cm^-3)
  • has a lower melting point than potassium (< 63.5 ^oC)