Sodium is more reactive than lithium. Why?

Answer 1

The lithium atom is smaller...........

Since the atoms of lithium and sodium are smaller than one another, we would anticipate that lithium would be LESS reducing.

#M rarr M^(+) + e^-#

How can we evaluate this? Well, the reactivity of lithium towards water would be less dramatic, while sodium metal would produce a few spits and sparks in water:

#Li(s) + H_2O(l) rarr Li^(+) + HO^(-) + 1/2H_2(g)uarr#

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Answer 2

Luna Chen

Because sodium has one extra electron in its outermost shell than lithium, it can lose that electron more easily and form a stable electron configuration, which makes sodium more reactive than lithium.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.