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The alkaline earth metals (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, and Ra) are the second most reactive metals in the periodic table, and, like the Group 1 metals, have increasing reactivity with increasing numbers of energy levels. Beryllium (Be) is the only alkaline earth metal that does not react with water or steam, even if the metal is heated red hot. [9]
The most reactive metals, such as sodium, will react with cold water to produce hydrogen and the metal hydroxide: 2 Na (s) + 2 H 2 O (l) →2 NaOH (aq) + H 2 (g) Metals in the middle of the reactivity series, such as iron , will react with acids such as sulfuric acid (but not water at normal temperatures) to give hydrogen and a metal salt ...
The eutectic mixture consists of 77% potassium and 23% sodium by mass (NaK-77), and it is a liquid from −12.6 to 785 °C (9.3 to 1,445.0 °F), and has a density of 0.866 g/cm 3 at 21 °C (70 °F) and 0.855 g/cm 3 at 100 °C (212 °F), making it less dense than water. [3] It is highly reactive with water and is stored usually under hexane or ...
The metal reacts with the water first, breaking the hydrogen bonds in the water and producing hydrogen gas; this takes place faster for the more reactive heavier alkali metals. Second, the heat generated by the first part of the reaction often ignites the hydrogen gas, causing it to burn explosively into the surrounding air.
Bulk sodium is usually stored in oil or an inert gas. Sodium metal can be easily cut with a knife. It is a good conductor of electricity and heat. Due to having low atomic mass and large atomic radius, sodium is third-least dense of all elemental metals and is one of only three metals that can float on water, the other two being lithium and ...
Addition of a small amount of caesium to cold water is explosive. Caesium metal is highly reactive and pyrophoric. It ignites spontaneously in air, and reacts explosively with water even at low temperatures, more so than the other alkali metals. [14] It reacts with ice at temperatures as low as −116 °C (−177 °F). [17]
Lithium is one of the few metals that react with nitrogen gas. [98] [99] Because of its reactivity with water, and especially nitrogen, lithium metal is usually stored in a hydrocarbon sealant, often petroleum jelly. Although the heavier alkali metals can be stored under mineral oil, lithium is not dense enough to fully submerge itself in these ...
Potassium metal can react violently with water producing KOH and hydrogen gas. 2 K(s) + 2 H 2 O(l) → 2 KOH(aq) + H 2 (g)↑ A reaction of potassium metal with water. Hydrogen is produced, and with potassium vapor, burns with a pink or lilac flame. Strongly alkaline potassium hydroxide is formed in solution.