1. Group #1 Alkali Metals
By: Gene, Tori, Sammi, Tom

2. Origin of the group
The word alkali comes from the Arabic word for ashes.
Alkali is now used as another word for base.
Alkali metals react with water.

3. General Characteristics of group
All of the elements are solids at room temperature except Caesium.
All of the elements have a silverish tint to them except Caesium which is a metallic gold.
The melting points decrease as you go down the group.
These elements have low densities compared to other elements.

4. Lithium (Li) Element: Lithium What: 1st element in group one.
Density: g/cm3
Phase at Room Temperature: Solid
Melting Point: degrees celsius
Characteristics: Silvery, lightest of all metals, moist air causes corrosion.
Origin of Name: Lithium derived from ‘lithos’, the Greek word for stone.
Who/When: 1817 by Johan August Arfwedson
Use of Element: Lithium is used for mental illnesses, for eating disorders, and for blood disorders.

5. Sodium (Na) Element: Sodium What: 2nd element in group one.
Density: g/cm3
Phase at Room Temperature: Solid
Melting Point: degrees celsius
Characteristics: Silvery-White so soft a room temperature you can cut it with a butter knife
Origin of Name: from the English word "soda" the origin of symbol Na from the Latin word "natrium"
Who/When: Sir Humphry Davy discovered in England in 1807
Use of Element: Sodium is used as a coolant in nuclear reactors, and as a reactant in organic chemistry

6. Potassium (K) Element: Potassium What: 3rd element in group one.
Density: g/cm3
Phase at Room Temperature: Solid
Melting Point: 63.5 degrees celsius
Characteristics: Silvery- White and lustrous
Origin of Name: from the English word "potash", the Arabic word "qali" meaning alkali, the origin the symbol K comes from the Latin word "kalium".
Who/When: Potassium metal was first isolated by Sir Humphery Davy in 1807
Use of Element: Potassium is used in organic chemistry as a powerful Reducing Agent

7. Rubidium (Rb) Element: Rubidium
What: 4th element from the top in group one.
Density: 1.53 grams per centimeter cubed
Phase at Room Temperature: Liquid
Melting Point: 39.48°C
Characteristics: Silvery-white, metallic
Origin of Name: From the Latin word "rubidius" meaning "dark red" or "deepest red".
Who/When: 1861 by Robert Bunsen & Gustav Kirchoff. Found in the mineral lepidolite by using a spectroscope.
Use of Element: It has been used as a component of photocells, andit is sometimes used in fireworks to give them a purple color.

8. Caesium (Cs) Element: Caesium What: 6th element in group one.
Density: g/cm3
Phase at Room Temperature: Solid
Melting Point: degrees celsius
Characteristics: soft, gold-coloured metal
Origin of Name: from the Latin word "caesius" meaning "sky blue" or "heavenly blue".
Who/When: Discovered by Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen in 1860
Use of Element: Used as a drilling fluid, to make special optical glass, as a catalyst promoter, in vacuum tubes and in radiation monitoring equipment.

9. Francium (Fr) Who: Marguerite Perey discovered Francium in 1939
What: Last alkali metal, atomic number 87 and atomic weight of 223 amu, it occurs naturally and is a solid at room temperature.
Where: Curie Institute in Paris, France
How: francium-223 is made naturally when actinium-227 emits an alpha-particle
Melting Point: 27oC (300 K) (Pretty low)
Density: g/cm3

10. Francium (Fr)
Characteristics: Francium is a heavy, unstable, radioactive metal with a maximum half-life of only 22 minutes.
Fun Facts:
Francium is the second rarest element in the Earth’s crust, next to astatine. Less than thirty grams of francium exists on Earth at any given time.
The discovery of francium completed humankind’s discoveries of naturally occurring elements.
Francium, like the other alkali metals, reacts in the present of water.
Uses of Francium: Commercially, there are no uses for francium, due to its rarity and instability. It is used for research purposes only.

11. Reactivity of Alkali Metals