What does the reactivity of an atom arise from?

Question

Noah Aldrich · Accepted Answer

From a lack of stability

According to the second law of thermodynamics, order gives way to disorder throughout the cosmos. Atoms will always move from an unstable structure to a more stable structure; this is a corollary of the second law, which states that everything moves to a state of greater stability. An example of an electrically unstable atom is sodium, which has one valance electron in its outer shell. Because of this unstable structure, the sodium atom will react to remove the unstable electron and become more stable. Atoms react chemically to form less ordered, more stable systems. When a beta particle is released, an unstable atom such as carbon-14 will react to create a more stable nuclear structure, changing from carbon-14 to the more stable nitrogen-14. Atoms will shift chemically or nuclearly in order to form a structure that is more stable.

Axel Alvarado · Answer

undefined An atom's electron configuration—more especially, the quantity of valence electrons—determines its reactivity.