Question

All of the alkali metals, Group 1, have one valence electron. Which of these would represent the oxidation number of the alkali

metals such as lithium and sodium?
A) -7
B) -1
C) +1
D) +7

Answer 1

C) +1

Step-by-step explanation:

The alkali metals all have a oxidation number of +1. Having just one valence electron, this group of elements would become more stable by losing that one electron. When it does, the atom now contains one more proton (+) than electron (+), giving it an overall oxidation number of +1.

Answer 2

Group 1 metals are the furthest to the left on the periodic table. Thus they only need to lose 1 electron to form a full octet. So when an atom loses an electron, they have 1 more proton than electrons, and that would give it a +1 charge. or C