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Question 76

A field guide says naturally occurring alkali metals are usually obtained from minerals rather than collected as pure native pieces. Why?

  1. They are all gases under ordinary conditions.
  2. They cannot occur in mineral deposits.
  3. Their high reactivity keeps them chiefly in compounds.Correct answer
  4. Their metallic forms are merely too rare to recognize.

Explanation

Their high reactivity causes alkali-metal atoms to combine readily with other substances, so nature chiefly contains them in compounds. Explaining the pattern only by rarity ignores why even available atoms do not persist as free metal.

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Question 76: A field guide says naturally occurring alkali metals are… · The Periodic Table and Elements · Questena