C1: GROUP 1

Question 1

Properties of group 1 elements

Answer 1

-soft
-low density
-increasing reactivity as you go down the group
-lower melting and boiling points as you go down the group
-higher relative atomic mass as you go down the group

Question 2

How do group 1 elements react with water?

Answer 2

-react vigorously
-prouduce hydrogen gas and metal hydroxides (dissolve in water to produce alkaline solutions)

Question 3

How do group 1 elements react with chlorine?

Answer 3

-react vigorously
-form white metal chloride salts

Question 4

How do group 1 elements react with oxygen?

Answer 4

-react to form a metal oxide
-different types of oxide will form depending on the group 1 metal (eg: lithium reacts to form lithium oxide whereas sodium reacts to form a mixture of sodium oxide and sodium peroxide)

Question 5

Describe the trend in reactivity as you go down group 1

Answer 5

-as you go down the group the atoms get larger
-this means that the outermost electron is further away from the nucleus
-therefore the forces of attraction between the nucleus and the outermost electron are weaker
-therefore it is easy to lose that outermost electron which makes the element more reactive