Skip to main content

Alkali Metal Reactivity Increases Down the Group

This video presents the same text shown beside it, spoken and on screen. It adds nothing the text does not say.

State

Group 1 alkali metal reactivity increases down the group because atomic radius grows and ionization energy falls, making the single valence electron progressively easier to remove.

Show

Cesium reacts more violently with water than sodium does, and sodium more violently than lithium.

Watch for

Reactivity here means ease of oxidation, not physical hardness — the alkali metals actually grow softer, not tougher, down the group.