The chemical reactivities of alkali metals, which include lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, and francium, are significantly higher than those of alkaline earth metals like beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, and radium, primarily due to the alkali metals having a single electron in their outermost shell that they can easily lose to achieve a stable electronic configuration, while alkaline earth metals possess two outer electrons that require more energy to remove, alongside factors such as decreasing ionization energy down each group and the increasing shielding effect in higher periods that influences overall reactivity trends.
How do the chemical reactivities of elements within the alkali metals group and the alkaline earth metals group compare, and what factors contribute to these differences? write them in a big, short complete sentence
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