Group 2 Trends

01Group 2 Trends

Group 2 elements

This section covers the outer-electron arrangement of Group 2 metals and their formation of 2+ ions.

The alkaline earth metals

The alkaline earth metals occupy Group 2. A Group 2 atom has a pair of electrons in its highest occupied electron shell.

The usual Group 2 ion forms when both outer electrons are lost, producing an ion with a 2+ charge.

MMX2++2eX\ce{M -> M^{2+} + 2e^-}

Losing these electrons means the metal is oxidised. As it supplies electrons to another species, the metal acts as a reducing agent.

The physical trends considered here involve Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba.

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