Asked by jacob

Elements in group 2 are all called alkaline earth metals. What is most similar about the alkaline earth metals?

how many protons and neutrons they have
which chemical properties they have
how many total electrons they have

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
"Which chemical properties they have" is the best answer.

Reason: Group 2 elements all have the same number of valence electrons (two, electron configuration ending in ns^2), so they show similar chemical behavior: they form +2 ions, make basic oxides and hydroxides, and react in related ways (reactivity generally increases down the group).

They do not have the same total number of protons/neutrons or the same total electrons — those increase with atomic number and differ by isotope.