Which of the following metals is the most reactive at 20 degrees C?

Question

a) potassium b) aluminum c) tin d) lead

Please explain exactly why.

Answer 1

K, its in group 1 and they're all extremely reactive metals. the rest are transition metals and aren't so, because their electron shell structure is different. potassium only needs to give up 1 electron to be stable, the others need more

Answer 2

potassium.

it is the 'lightest' of the metals to choose from.

Answer 3

Its potassium.

it readily gives the single electron in its outermost shell to achieve stability.

Answer 4

I agree that it is Potassium, because it only has 1 electron in it's outer electron shell and will very readily ionise to K+. Tendancy of an element to loose electrons increases down a group and from rigth to left across a period.

However, I don't agree with the "lightest" comment. Activities of metals increase as you move down their group. This is because as you go down the group the atoms become larger and the outer shell electrons are further away from the +ve nucleus. These electrons have lower ionisation energies because the electron is not as stongly "held" by the nucleus hence they are much more reactive. Thus "heavier" atoms are more reactive. Francium has the highest atomic mass of all the group 1 metals and is the most reactive.

It is opposite for non-metals, because they gain electrons.

http://richardbowles.tripod.com/chemistr...