Question

I'm a really stuck in this. I kind of suck in chemistry, please help me. I would really appreciate it.

Answer 1

Group 1 can be characterized as atoms that have 1 electron in their valence shell. This is valuable when dealing with these questions, because the loss or gain of valence electrons is what defines ionic relationships. When group 1 elements form ionic bonds with other atoms, they are extremely likely to lose their valence electron, since the nucleus has a weaker pull on it than, say, a chlorine atom has on its 7 valence electrons. The weaker pull between the nucleus and the valence electron of group 1 elements means that the radius is high, since the electron is more free to move with less pull on it. This also means that the first ionization energy is low, since it takes relatively little energy for that electron to be pulled away to another atom.