What is the most reactive metal with water..and how do you know?

Question

How do you know? and which gas is given off?
- What's the next reactive metal?
Thanks.

Answer 1

Potassium , Its fun .

Answer 2

bottom of the periodic table in group 1 (hydrogen and below) - Rb's the first one that's solid, and would have a very powerful reaction with water; most reactive I've been able to talk a professor into demonstrating is K, a tiny bit in a beaker can have literally explosive results. More often, you can talk them into a demo with Na since it's less dramatic, but even there you have to be careful not to make a big mess of shattered pyrex... this is why they're stored in oil...

Never bothered to worry about the reaction itself, actually, so I don't remember what I was taught - I just loved watching the ball of metal "dance" across the water surface giving off flame... (hehe, fire! lol) but the positively charged ions would attract the -OH ions in the water--> eg: 2Na(s) + 2HOH(l) ---> 2NaOH(aq) + H2(g)

Answer 3

the most reactive according to the periodic table must be Francium, because reactivity increases as you go down a column in the table, but since Fr is radioactive and doesn't exist in free form, Cs (Cesium) is considered to be the most reactive, the reaction is so exothermic a little piece of the metal will explode up if dropped in water. the reactivity will decrease in the order Cs > Rb > K > Na > Li. All group 1A metals follow the following general reaction with water => 2Me (s) + 2H2O (l)--> 2MeOH (aq) +H2 (gas)

Answer 4

The most reactive metal with water is potassium.It is a alkaline earth metal which reacts vigorously with water to form alkalies.When it reacts with water it forms potassium hydroxide and hydrogen gas.
equation-
k+h2o-koh+h2
Except sodium,potassium,and some other highly reactive metals,other metals forms oxides.

Answer 5

Looking at a metal activities table, we see that lithium is the most reactive element. What this means is that Lithium is a strong reducing agent. When combined with water, lithium will undergo the following redox reaction:

2Li(s) + 2H2O(l) --> 2LiOH(S)+ H2(g)

In redox reactions, the reducing agent is oxidized, whereas the oxidizing agent is reduced.[OIL RIG: Oxidation is loss of electrons, Reduction is gain of electrons]
We can get an idea of what is happening if we track oxidation numbers before an after the reaction.
Lithium goes from zero to a +1 cation (it lost 1 electron). The hygrogen went from +1 cation to zero (it gained 1 electron)

Lithium very easily undergoes this reaction, therefore it is highly reactive.

Potassium metal is the next most reactive element.

Answer 6

well, it seems like most of the people above are wrong!
the true answer is ,
LITHIUM or Li.
in metals, the lighter the metal, the more it reacts! applicable to group 1 in modern periodic table
hence, li, which is the lightest metal after hydrogen, reacts the most vigorously,
2Li+2H2O ~ 2LiOH + H2 GAS
h2 gas is liberated.

the next most reactive metal is Sodium
i know it because, i have a degree in MSc. in chemistry

Answer 7

Fr, Cs, Rb, K, Na, Li all are highly reactive with water. all of them are in 1st column. reactivity increases as you go down column and decreases as you go down row.

Answer 8

First is the Potassium then sodium. Gas evolved is the Hydrogen.

Answer 9

It is Sodium.This and Potassium react violently with cold water. The reaction is so violent that the hydrogen evolved immediately catches fire.calcium comes after potassium. Magnesium doesn't react with cold water but reacts with hot water.Aluminium,zinc and iron don't react with either cold or warm water,but they react with steam.
The gas evolved in each case is HYDROGEN.
Metals like lead,copper,silver and gold do not react with water at all.

Answer 10

It is Sodium, remembered an experiment in High School. Sodium ball rushes here and there and vanishes when put in water and thats why it is stored in Kerosine Oil.

Answer 11

the most reactive element is phosphorus