The alkali metals make up Group 1 of the periodic table. This family consists of the elements lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, and francium (Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, and Fr, respectively). Group one elements share common characteristics. They are all soft, silver metals. Due to their low ionization energy, these metals have low melting points and are highly reactive. The reactivity of this family increases as you move down the table. Alkali metals are noted for how vigorously they react with water. Due to this, they are often stored in mineral oil and are not found in their elemental forms in nature. These characteristics can be explained by examining the electronic structure of each element in this group. Alkali metals have one valence electron. They readily give up this electron to assume the noble gas configuration as a cation. This makes the elements in this group highly reactive.hope this helps you ok.
