Why is sodium metal highly reactive when a sodium ion is not?

Answer 1

In the Group 1 and Group 2 elements, these metals want to loan out electrons to achieve what is called inert gas electron configuration, which is a full outer electron shell or valence shell. Because of their electron configurations as elemental metals, they are in a big hurry to do this (they are very reactive). In the ion, the metal has already loaned an electron (in the case of the Group 1 metals) or two electrons (in the case of the Group 2 metals). As an ion, the metal is "happy" because it has already reacted and loaned out the electron or electrons that will allow it to achieve inert gas electron configuration.

Answer 2

Sodium, like all the Group 1 metals, is very reactive because it wants to achieve what is called an inert gas electron configuration. That means a full outer electron shell or valence shell. The Group 1 metals have a lone electron in their valence shell, and if the atom can "dump" it by loaning it out, then the rest of the electrons become "happy" with the way things are working in the electron cloud. The outer shell is now "full" since the "outcast" was sent packing. The drive of an atom to achieve inert gas electron configuration is a driving force in all of chemistry. It's a key to understanding how one kind of atom behaves around another kind of element.

Answer 3

Sodium metal is highly reactive because it readily loses its outer electron to form a stable sodium ion, which has a full outer electron shell. The highly reactive nature of sodium metal is due to its tendency to achieve a stable electron configuration by donating its outer electron. Sodium ions, on the other hand, are stable because they have achieved a full outer electron shell through this electron transfer.