Final answer:
Potassium (K) from Group 1 tends to lose its outer electron to form a cation, making it highly reactive with nonmetals that gain electrons to form anions. Group 17, the halogens, are the most likely to react with potassium to form an ionic bond due to their tendency to gain an electron.
Step-by-step explanation:
Potassium (K), being in Group 1 of the periodic table, has a single electron in its outer valence shell and is classified as an alkali metal with an s¹ configuration. In chemical reactions, potassium tends to lose this electron to form a cation, a positively charged ion denoted as K+. Since ionic bonds typically occur between metals and nonmetals, one would predict that Group 1 metals like potassium would react with elements that readily gain electrons to form anions.
Group 17, also known as the halogens, contains nonmetals like fluorine and chlorine with a p⁵ configuration, indicating one electron vacancy in their valence shell. Halogens are highly reactive and are likely to accept an electron to complete their octet and form negatively charged ions or anions.
Therefore, Group 17 elements are most likely to react with potassium (K) to form a stable ionic bond. In contrast, elements from Group 18 are noble gases and possess a complete octet, making them relatively unreactive. Group 2 metals would not typically form ionic bonds with other metals, such as potassium from Group 1, since both groups lose electrons and form cations. Additionally, elements from Group 1 would not likely form ionic bonds with each other for similar reasons.