Question

To help you rank the reactivity of the three metals you will be creating atomic charge models for each of the elements. You may use the periodic table as a model to help you complete these individual models.

1. Complete the atomic charge models to show the charged substructure of sodium, magnesium and potassium.

Answer 1

Metals tend to readily lose electrons and form cations. Most of them react with atmospheric oxygen to form metal oxides. However, different metals have different reactivities towards oxygen (unreactive metals such as gold and platinum do not readily form oxides when exposed to air

Answer 2

For sodium

• Nucleus =11+
• Core electrons=10-
• Valence electrons=1-

For Magnesium

• Nucleus=12+
• Core electrons=10-
• Valence electrons=2-

For potassium

• Nucleus=19+
• Core electrons=18-
• Valence electrons=1-