1. All of the alkali metals except francium had been discovered by 1860.

Why did it take scientists nearly

another 80 years to discover francium? Francium is a product of uranium decay. t is quite unstable; its
most stable isotope lasts for less than half an hour.

There are two reasons why Francium was late to be discovered:

1. during that time, radioactivity was not yet fully studied. As such, the presence of radioactive elements
(and by-products, for that matter) was not yet noticed until 1896, when Henri Becquerel discovered
radioactivity.

2. Although radioactive elements were discovered sooner, the short half-life of francium was the cause
why it was hard to observe the element in nature (in fact, it took more than forty years later before
francium was observed--and it was discovered in a decay series, not in nature).
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090205043734AAYzkLL


Francium is an alkali metal, a member of Group 1 (A) in the periodic table. The periodic table is a chart that
shows how chemical elements are related to each other.
Francium may be the rarest element found on the Earth's surface. Some experts believe that no more than 15
grams (less than an ounce) of the element exists in the Earth's crust. The element was discovered in 1939 by
French chemist Marguerite Perey (1909-975). All isotopes of francium are radioactive.

Francium was one of the last naturally-occurring elements to be discovered. Chemists had been searching for it
since the development of the periodic table.
n the early 1900s, nearly all boxes on the periodic table had been filled. One element had been found to fit into
each box. By the 1930s, only three remained emptyelements with atomic numbers of 43, 85, and 87.
SYMBOL
Fr
ATOMIC NUMBER
87
ATOMIC MASS
223.0197
FAMILY
Group 1 (A)
Alkali metal
PRONUNCIATION
FRAN-see-um
This search produced a number of incorrect results. For example, American chemist Fred Allison (1882-1974)
announced the discovery of elements 85 and 87 in 1931. He suggested the names of alabamine and virginium, in
honour of the states in which he was born (Virginia) and where he worked (Alabama). But other scientists were
not able to confirm Allison's discoveries.
Element 87 was isolated by Perey, who was studying the radioact1ive decay of the element actinium while
working at the Curie nstitute in Paris, France. Radioactive elements like actinium break apart spontaneously,
giving off energy and particles. This process results in the formation of simpler new elements.
Marguerite Perey (1909-75) was a French physicist who discovered the element francium. Perey was interested
in science even as a small child. However, her father died early on, and there was no money for Perey to attend
a university. nstead, she found a job at the Radium nstitute in Paris. The Radium nstitute had been founded by
Marie Curie (1867-1934) and her husband, Pierre Curie (1859-1906), to study radioactive materials.
Perey was originally hired for a three-month period. But Madame Curie was very impressed with Perey's skills in
the laboratory. Perey eventually ended up working at the Radium nstitute until 1935.
One of the projects Perey worked on was the radioactive decay of actinium. When actinium decays, it gives off
radiation and changes into another element, thorium. Thorium, in turn, also gives off radiation and changes into
another element, radium. This process is repeated a number of times. n each step, a radioactive element decays
to form another element.
As Perey studied this series of reactions, she made an interesting discovery. The mixture of elements that are
formed in these reactions contained a substance she did not recognize. She decided to find out what that
substance was. She was eventually able to show that it was a new element, with atomic number 87. The element
was one of the last naturally occurring elements to be discovered. Perey named the element in honour of her
native land, France.
Perey was the first woman ever elected to the French Academy of Science. Even Marie Curie had not earned
that honour. Perey died in 1975 after a 15-year-long battle with cancer.1
Francium-223 has a half-life of 22 minutes. The half-life of a radioactive element is the time it takes for half of a
sample of the element to break down. That means that 100 grams of francium-223 will break down so that only
50 grams are left after 22 minutes. Another 22 minutes later, 25 grams of francium-223 will remain, and so on.
Read more: http://www.chemistryexplained.com/elements/C-K/Francium.html#ixzz1c5szL3pX
1. 3.Lithium (Li), 6.941; Melting Point: 356.9F (180.5C); Boiling Point: 2,457F (1,347C)
2. 11. Sodium (Na), 22.99; Melting Point: 208F (97.8C); Boiling Point: 1,621.4F (883C)
3. 19. Potassium (K), 39.10; Melting Point: 145.9F (63.28C); Boiling Point: 1,398.2F (759C)
4. 37. Rubidium (Rb), 85.47; Melting Point: 102.8F (39.31C); Boiling Point: 1,270.4F (688C)
5. 55. Caesium (Cs), 132.9; Melting Point: 83.12F (28.4C); Boiling Point: 1,239.8F (671C)
6. 87. Francium (Fr), (223); Melting Point: 80.6F (27C); Boiling Point: 1,250.6F (677C)

f you are familiar with the reactivity of group A elements with water, then you know that the reactivity increases
as you go down the column. Therefore Fr, if there was ever enough to react, would react explosively.

would guess that there would be a percussive reaction with a loud bang and an instant vaporization of a large
quantity of water, producing a lot of steam, plus burning hydrogen, since hydrogen is also a product.

You would also see whatever the characteristic colour of burning Fr would be, much like the purple of burning K.
Source(s):
35 years of teaching chemistry
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080412073452AAfklN
3. Alkali metals often react violently especially so with substances such as water, halogens or Group 6 elements.
This is due to their lone electron occupying the outermost shell (or s-orbital if you will) facing a low effective
nuclear charge and thus, only weakly attracted to the nucleus. Therefore, it is easily lost to other compounds with
a high electronegativity (tendency to attract/accept electrons) such as chlorine and fluorine, resulting in an
exothermic reactions. n the case of water, any alkali metal M will react with water according to 2M(s) +2H2O (l)
=2MOH (aq) + H2 (g). For reactions with halogens (denoted as 'H'), it is M (g) + H (g) -> MH(s)

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Describe_the_reactions_of_the_alkali_metals#ixzz1c63Fb3Qm

Lithium
Lithium's density is only about half that of water so it floats on the surface, gently fizzing and giving off hydrogen.
t gradually reacts and disappears, forming a colourless solution of lithium hydroxide. The reaction generates
heat too slowly and lithium's melting point is too high for it to melt (see sodium below).
Sodium
Sodium also floats on the surface, but enough heat is given off to melt the sodium (sodium has a lower melting
point than lithium and the reaction produces heat faster) and it melts almost at once to form a small silvery ball
that dashes around the surface. A white trail of sodium hydroxide is seen in the water under the sodium, but this
soon dissolves to give a colourless solution of sodium hydroxide.
The sodium moves because it is pushed around by the hydrogen which is given off during the reaction. f the
sodium becomes trapped on the side of the container, the hydrogen may catch fire to burn with an orange flame.
The colour is due to contamination of the normally blue hydrogen flame with sodium compounds.
Potassium
Potassium behaves rather like sodium except that the reaction is faster and enough heat is given off to set light to
the hydrogen. This time the normal hydrogen flame is contaminated by potassium compounds and so is coloured
lilac (a faintly bluish pink).
Rubidium
Rubidium is denser than water and so sinks. t reacts violently and immediately, with everything spitting out of the
container again. Rubidium hydroxide solution and hydrogen are formed.
aesium
Caesium explodes on contact with water, quite possibly shattering the container. Caesium hydroxide and
hydrogen are formed

Summary of the trend in reactivity
The Group 1 metals become more reactive towards water as you go down the Group.

The reactions become easier as the energy needed to form positive ions falls. This is in part due to a
decrease in ionisation energy as you go down the Group, and in part to a fall in atomisation energy reflecting
weaker metallic bonds as you go from lithium to caesium. This leads to lower activation energies, and
therefore faster reactions.
http://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/group1/reacth2o.html
Rubidium, caesium and francium are very expIosive with water.
Down the group the reaction gets faster and more vioIent as the metaI gets more reactive
.e. Li < Na < K < Rb < Cs < Fr or francium > caesium > rubidium > potassium > sodium > Iithium
The reaction equation for sodium is in words and symbols...
Sodium + water ==> sodium hydroxide + hydrogen
2Na(s) + 2H2O (I) ==> 2NaOH (aq) + H2 (g)
And the equations are similar for any of the other Alkali Metals since they are in the same group of the
Periodic TabIe; they behave chemicaIIy in the same way i.e. Just substitute Li (lithium), K (potassium), Rb
(rubidium), Cs (rubidium) or Fr (francium) for Na. ts handy to know the 'pattern' of both the word equations and
symbol equations and it fits in with the idea, an important concept, that elements in the same group of vertical
column in the periodic table, all tend to behave chemically in the same way - this is what the Periodic TabIe is
aII about!.
e.g.
Potassium + water ==> potassium hydroxide + hydrogen
Or 2K(s) + 2H2O (I) ==> 2KOH (aq) + H2 (g)
And 2Li(s) + 2H2O (I) ==> 2LiOH (aq) + H2 (g)
Theoretically Francium is the most reactive and therefore the most explosive metal when in contact with water,
however, it is also very radioactive and so the experiment is highly unlikely to be performed!
4. He answer varies depending on whether or not you are dealing with an ionic compound or a pure substance.
Other substances will not fit the following rules. As usual, transition metals often find exception.

As you go down a column in the periodic table, the atomic radius increases and melting point also increases. This
is most obvious from the group 7A elements, the halogens. Caution, this is not 4nly because of the atomic radius.
t's also because we are comparing similar nonpolar molecules to one another. The melting and boiling points
increase also because of random London dispersion forces. This is a type of force contributing most when you
are comparing similar molecules.
odine, 2, with a large radius, is solid at room temperature. t hasn't hit its melting point yet. Bromine, Br2, with a
smaller radius, is a liquid at room temperature. ts melting point was lower than 2; it has already melted. Since
chlorine, Cl2, with the smallest radius yet, is already gaseous at room temperature; it is safely assumed that its
melting point is lower than either Br2 or 2. London dispersion forces also account for pure caesium's higher
melting point vs. pure sodium, pure calcium's higher melting point vs. pure magnesium, etc.

when you consider compounds, however, the game changes. Radii and ionic charge must be considered.
Magnesium oxide (MgO), for example has charges of 2
+
and 2
-
, respectively. These ions are strongly attracted to
each other and the radius between them is very small as a result. Strong ionic bonds and a small atomic radius
mean a very high lattice energy, which is directly related to boiling and melting points.

Let's consider Na2O. Our anion is the same, oxygen, with charge 2
-
. Compared to the magnesium cation, sodium
with charge 1+ does not attract as strongly to the oxygen and so the ionic bond is weaker. Also, the sodium ion
radius is slightly larger than the magnesium ion radius because sodium has fewer protons to attract the same
number of electrons. This makes the overall lattice energy much weaker compared to MgO! As we expect, the
melting point of Na2O is much lower than that of MgO.

Read
more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_relationship_between_melting_point_and_atomic_radius#ixzz1c66
zfNi1
n simple terms it's bigger, thus the melting points are going to be higher.

There is a pattern because the periodic table is in order, with all groups sharing similar chemical properties, and
each period increasing in atomic number.

As atomic number increases there are more protons in the nucleus (more positively charged particles) as well as
more electrons as well as more shells (negatively charged particles), therefore there is more of a pull between
the nucleus and the electrons. However the inner electrons often "shield" some of the outer electrons from this
effect. Going across a period, atomic radius decreases because there are more protons, and more electrons
filling up the shells. However, going down a group, there is an entire electron shell added, with only one electron
in it. Therefore, the ratios of protons/electrons/shielding effect mean that the pull on the electrons is the same,
while a shell are added, meaning the atomic radius increases.
5. Neil's Bohr proposed the Bohr Model of the Atom in 1915. Because the Bohr Model is a modification of the
earlier Rutherford Model, some people call Bohr's Model the Rutherford-Bohr Model. The modern model of the
atom is based on quantum mechanics. The Bohr Model contains some errors, but it is important because it
describes most of the accepted features of atomic theory without the entire high-level math of the modern
version. Unlike earlier models, the Bohr Model explains the Rydberg formula for the spectral emission lines of
atomic hydrogen.
The Bohr Model is a planetary model in which the negatively-charged electrons orbit a small, positively-charged
nucleus similar to the planets orbiting the Sun (except that the orbits are not planar). The gravitational force of the
solar system is mathematically akin to the Coulomb (electrical) force between the positively-charged nucleus and
the negatively-charged electrons.
Main Points of the Bohr ModeI
O Electrons orbit the nucleus in orbits that have a set size and energy.
O The energy of the orbit is related to its size. The lowest energy is found in the smallest orbit.
O Radiation is absorbed or emitted when an electron moves from one orbit to another.
Problems with the Bohr Model
O It violates the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle because it considers electrons to have both a known radius and orbit.
O %he Bohr Model provides an incorrect value Ior the ground state orbital angular momentum.
O It makes poor predictions regarding the spectra oI larger atoms.
O It does not predict the relative intensities oI spectral lines.
O %he Bohr Model does not explain Iine structure and hyperIine structure in spectral lines.
O It does not explain the Zeeman EIIect.
Basically, atoms are stable with a full shell of electrons, so the alkali metals only need to lose one electron to get
a full shell, so they are very reactive. Their reactivity increases as you go down the group as the electron you lose
is further from the positive nucleus attracting it, which is also shielded by the electrons in between. This makes it
easier for the outer electron to be lost.
f you look at the Bohr model of say Lithium, which is an alkali metal, you would see that Lithium only has one
valence electron (electron on outermost ring). Since it only has to give away one electron to become stable,
which makes it highly reactive (the fewer electrons you have the less you need to give away, so you are not
willing to take any and instead you want to give them away)
t really can't. The Bohr model worked fine for hydrogen (and other one-electron systems), but the Bohr model
was pretty much replaced in the early 1920's by the quantum mechanical model.

The reactivity of the alkali metals is better explained in terms of atomic radius and effective nuclear charge. The
alkali metals easily react because the outermost electron is loosely bound to the atom. t is the electron farthest
away from the nucleus and the intervening electrons help "shield" the nucleus so that effective nuclear charge is
low, giving the metal a low electronegativity, and making the outermost electron easier to share with an
element with a greater electronegativity.