Ch 6s-Block Elements — Class 11 Chemistry, concept-first.

Group 1 of the periodic table -- lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium and francium -- is called the alkali metal family because their hydroxides are strong alkalis (bases) that dissolve freel…

Group 1: general electronic configuration. Every alkali metal atom has the configuration of the preceding noble gas plus one additional electron in the outermost s orbital, written generally as : lith…

Atomic and ionic radii. On descending either group, one full principal quantum shell is added at every step, so both the atomic radius and the ionic radius increase steadily and substantially down the…

Alkali metals are the most chemically reactive of all metals, on account of their very low ionization enthalpies, and this reactivity increases steadily on descending the group from lithium to caesium…

Alkaline earth metals are also highly reactive, though as a rule less reactive than the alkali metal of the same period, since their higher ionization enthalpy makes them somewhat less ready to lose e…

When hydrogen combines with another element, the compound formed -- a hydride -- can fall into any of three structurally very different classes, depending chiefly on the electronegativity, size and el…

Hydrogen peroxide, , is a pale blue, syrupy liquid, completely miscible with water, and one of the most important industrial oxidizing/bleaching agents.

Burning dihydrogen releases an unusually large amount of energy for its mass -- more energy per kilogram than any conventional fossil fuel -- and its combustion produces only water, with no carbon dio…

Four s-block elements -- sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium -- are essential (biologically indispensable) elements, each with a distinct, well-established physiological role.