Why Calorimeters are made of metals not of glass?
All atoms want a full outer shell in order to be stable. The number of valence or outer electrons determines the reactivity of your atom. The alkaline earth metals have 2 outer electrons and the alkali metals have 1 outer electron. Because alkali metals only have one outer electron they are especially desperate to loose that electron as they are so close to becoming stable. Because the alkali metals are so desperate to loose their outer electron they tend to get rid of it particularly easily, thus making them so reactive.
B) alkali metals have lower ionization energies Why? Because the ionization energy of an element is the amount of energy needed to remove its most loosely-bound electron, namely, the valence electrons. So if alkali metals have low ionization energies, it will be easier for their valence electrons to be lost and transferred to another element, notably, a nonmetal. Note that the valence electrons are the electrons dwelling on the very last electron shell of an atom.
Because the ionization energy of an element is the amount of energy needed to remove its most loosely-bound electron, namely, the valence electrons. So if alkali metals have low ionization energies, it will be easier for their valence electrons to be lost and transferred to another element, notably, a nonmetal. Note that the valence electrons are the electrons dwelling on the very last electron shell of an atom.
B. think about the electrons in the valence shell. ionization energy is the amt. of energy need to remove that first electron away from the species.
