Question

What makes a metal and a non metal most

reactive? Where in the PT will you find the most
reactive metal and the most reactive non metal.?

Answer 1

Metals tend to lose electrons and have low electronegativities, making them more reactive, while nonmetals tend to gain electrons and have high electronegativities, making them less reactive. The most reactive metal is cesium, and the most reactive nonmetal is fluorine.

Step-by-step explanation:

Metallic character refers to the level of reactivity of a metal. Metals tend to lose electrons in chemical reactions, as indicated by their low ionization energies. Within a compound, metal atoms have relatively low attraction for electrons, as indicated by their low electronegativities. By following the trend summary in the figure below, you can see that the most reactive metals would reside in the lower left portion of the periodic table. The most reactive metal is cesium, which is not found in nature as a free element. It reacts explosively with water and will ignite spontaneously in air. Francium is below cesium in the alkali metal group, but is so rare that most of its properties have never been observed.

Nonmetals tend to gain electrons in chemical reactions, and have a high attraction for electrons within a compound. The most reactive nonmetals reside in the upper right portion of the periodic table. Fluorine is the most reactive nonmetal and is not found in nature as a free element. It reacts explosively with many other elements and compounds. It is considered to be one of the most dangerous known substances.

Answer 2

Step-by-step explanation:

The reactivity of elements in the periodic table is based on the number of electrons in there outermost shell. Elements (metals) that have few electrons in there outermost shell are highly reactive because it is easier to lose fewer number of electrons (in the outermost shell during a reaction) than to lose more electrons in the outermost shell - thus metals that have one electron in there outermost shell are most reactive and are more reactive than those that have two electrons in there outermost shell. Hence, metals in group 1 are the most reactive metals because they all have one electron in there outermost shell.

Non-metals that have fewer electrons to complete there octet configuration are highly reactive because it is easier to gain fewer number of electrons (in the outermost shell during a reaction) than to gain more number of electrons - thus nonmetals that have seven electrons in there outermost shell are more reactive than nonmetals that have six electrons in there outermost shell. Hence, nonmetals in group 17 are the most reactive nonmetals because they contain seven electrons and have just one electron left to complete there octet configuration.