Question

The greater metallic character is found in the elements in the ___ part of a Group. (lowest/uppermost)

Answer 1

• Metallic character is the ability of an atom to lose either one or more electrons to obtain a stable electronic configuration. For example, Potassium $\left(\mathrm{K}\right)$, a metal easily loses an electron (${\mathrm{e}}^{-}$) to form a Potassium ion (${\mathrm{K}}^{+}$).

$\mathrm{K}+\mathrm{energy}\to {\mathrm{K}}^{+}+{\mathrm{e}}^{-}$

• The atomic size increases while the ionization energy decreases on moving down the Group in the periodic table. Due to an increase in the atomic size and decrease in ionization energy (quantity of heat) that must be supplied to eliminate the outermost electron from an isolated and neutral gaseous atom of any element), the loss of electrons by the element becomes easy and therefore, the metallic character increases on moving from top to bottom in any Group. Hence, elements present in the bottom or lowest portion of any Group have the maximum metallic character in that Group.
• Example, Tin (Sn) and Lead (Pb) both belong to the same Group (Group 14) but Tin lies above Lead in the Group. Therefore, Lead has a more metallic character than Tin.