sgstudent said:It is stated that for the halogens reactivity decreases down the group. Buy why is this so? Since they would form elements so since they should be stable hence eg chlorine being more reactive than bromine won't the bonds be stronger making it even less reactive? So I'm quite confused about this part here. Thanks for the help!
aroc91 said:The reason that HCl is a stronger acid than HBr is that Cl- is less reactive than Br-. You have to consider the stability of the product, not just the bond energy. Equilibrium constants exist for a reason.
The halogens are a group of elements on the periodic table that include fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine. They are highly reactive nonmetals and are located in group 17.
The reactivity of the halogens decreases as you move down the group. This is due to the increase in atomic size and the decrease in electronegativity.
The halogens are reactive because they have 7 valence electrons and are only 1 electron away from having a stable octet. They are highly electronegative and easily gain an electron to achieve a full outer shell.
Fluorine is the most reactive halogen. It has the smallest atomic size and the highest electronegativity, making it highly reactive and able to form strong bonds with other elements.
The halogens commonly react with alkali metals to form ionic compounds, such as sodium chloride (table salt). They also react with hydrogen to form hydrogen halides, and with nonmetals to form covalent compounds.