Reaction with water

[globy321]

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Why does potassium (K) react more violently with water than Mg, Fe, and Zn?

 

[MangoPlant]

potassium only has one electron in its valence shell so its ionization energy is very low. In other word potassium gives up its valence electron much more easily than the other elements listed.

 

[richkaj]

That is correct, I will explain this through the effective nuclear charge point of view. Given the amount of protons involved over the amount of electrons that are not in a complete octet will show that potassium has the lowest effective nuclear charge causing it to have a smaller radius, lower ionization energy (wants to be like a noble gas), and a smaller electronegativity (less pull from the nucleus) than the other elements...

 

[Pigglyjuff]

Wasn't this an AAMC10 question?