Question

What makes a metal and a non metal most

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

The reactivity of elements in the periodic table is based on the number of electrons in there outermost shell. Elements (metals) that have few electrons in there outermost shell are highly reactive because it is easier to lose fewer number of electrons (in the outermost shell during a reaction) than to lose more electrons in the outermost shell - thus metals that have one electron in there outermost shell are most reactive and are more reactive than those that have two electrons in there outermost shell. Hence, metals in group 1 are the most reactive metals because they all have one electron in there outermost shell.

Non-metals that have fewer electrons to complete there octet configuration are highly reactive because it is easier to gain fewer number of electrons (in the outermost shell during a reaction) than to gain more number of electrons - thus nonmetals that have seven electrons in there outermost shell are more reactive than nonmetals that have six electrons in there outermost shell. Hence, nonmetals in group 17 are the most reactive nonmetals because they contain seven electrons and have just one electron left to complete there octet configuration.