s Block Elements
6.0 Alkaline Earth Metals
6.0 Alkaline Earth Metals
The $2^{nd}$ group elements are Beryllium(Be), Magnesium(Mg), Calcium(Ca), Strontium(Sr), Barium(Ba) and Radium(Ra) which have two electrons in their outermost shell, are called alkaline earth metals because
- Their hydroxides form alkaline aqueous solutions.
- Their oxides are earthen i.e., soil like means having very high melting points.
| Property | Be | Mg | Ca | Sr | Ba | Ra |
| Atomic Number ($Z$) | $4$ | $12$ | $20$ | $38$ | $56$ | $88$ |
| Electronic Configuration | [He] $2{s^2}$ | [Ne] $3{s^2}$ | [Ar] $4{s^2}$ | [Kr] $5{s^2}$ | [Xe] $6{s^2}$ | [Rn] $7{s^2}$ |
| Ion | $B{e^ 2+ }$ | $M{g^ 2+ }$ | $C{a^ 2+ }$ | $S{r^ 2+ }$ | $B{a^ 2+ }$ | $R{a^ 2+ }$ |
| Atomic Radius ${A^ \circ }$ | $0.90$ | $1.36$ | $1.74$ | $1.92$ | $1.98$ | - |
| Flame Colouration | None | None | Brick Red | Crimson | Apple Green | Crimson |
