Take a look at this snip of the periodic table. Compare Potassium (K), Sodium (Na), and Magnesium (Mg). Which two of these elements would have similar chemical properties? Explain how you know.

Answer 1

Potassium (K), Sodium (Na), and Magnesium (Mg) are all located in the same group/family on the periodic table - Group 1A or Group 1, which is also referred to as the alkali metals group. Elements in the same group tend to have similar chemical properties due to their similar electronic configurations.

Potassium, Sodium, and Magnesium all have one valence electron, meaning they have the same electronic configuration in their outermost shell. This similarity in electronic configuration makes them all highly reactive metals, since they have a tendency to lose that one valence electron and form a positive ion.

Therefore, Potassium (K) and Sodium (Na) would have similar chemical properties since they both belong to the same group and have one valence electron. Magnesium (Mg), however, is located in Group 2A/2 and has two valence electrons, which results in slightly different chemical properties compared to K and Na.