1. Reactivity of metals Denise 8a

2. Does a connection or relationship exist between the reactivity of a metal and the time it was discovered? Our Question:

3. Background information I know that metals with a greater atomic radius are more reactive, as they release their electrons more easily. This is because the electrons are farther away from the nucleus, and therefore the nucleus has a weaker hold on them.

4. My hypothesis I think that it won’t matter when the metal was discovered. This is because the factor that affects the reactivity of a metal is the atomic radius, which would not change depending on the time it was found.

5. There are currently around 117 metals, but for the sake of time and space, I will only list 10 of them ( in order of reactivity):

6. Conclusion I think that there’s a slight pattern, which could easily be explained by coincidence. All of the more reactive metals (Caesium, Potassium, Lithium and Magnesium) were found in the 1800s, and the others stay in the 1700s and B.C. I believe this disproves my hypothesis.

7. Bibliography "Cesium." Nobel.scas.bcit.ca. British Columbia Institute of Technology. Web. 02 Nov. 2010.. Periodic Table of Elements. Digital image. Ptable. Web.. Periodic Table of Elements. Digital image. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia, Media Wiki. Web.. Winter, Mark. "Potassium | Historical Information." WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements. The University of Sheffield, 1993 - 2010. Web.. "Facts about Lithium." Facts About Everything! Arts, Literature, Science, History, Events, Entertainment, People, Places and the Natural World. Web.. "Facts about Magnesium." Facts About Everything! Arts, Literature, Science, History, Events, Entertainment, People, Places and the Natural World. Web.. "Facts about Magnesium." Facts About Everything! Arts, Literature, Science, History, Events, Entertainment, People, Places and the Natural World. Web.. "Periodic Table of the Elements." Kemijsko-tehnološki Fakultet U Splitu. Croatian Ministry for Science and Technology, 15 Oct. 2010. Web.. "BBC - H2g2 - Metals, Their Properties and Reactivity - a Beginners' Guide." BBC - Homepage. British Broadcasting Corporation. Web..