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Grade Upto college level Physical Chemistry

Explain why is sodium less reactive then potassium .

Profile image of Shashank
12 Years agoGrade Upto college level
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1 Answer

Profile image of Sunil Kumar FP
11 Years ago
Potassium has one more full shell of electrons between the nucleus and the outermost electron. Thus, in potassium, the outermost electron is better shielded from the attractive force of the nucleus. It follows, therefore, that this outermost electron is more easily lost than it is in sodium, so potassium can form K+ more readily than sodium can form Na+. Hence, potassium is more reactive than sodium.