Where is alkaline earth metals on the periodic table

Beryllium is used to make windows for X-ray tubes it is transparent to X-rays , and is used in alloys with other metals, such as copper and nickel, to make spark-proof tools and watch springs. Beryllium is also using in casings for nuclear weapons and in nuclear power plants because of its ability to reflect neutrons.

Beryllium accumulates in bones; long-term exposure to beryllium results in inflammation in the lungs and shortness of breath a condition called berylliosis. Magnesium is a silver-white, relatively soft metal. The name of the element is derived from Magnesia, a district in Thessaly in central Greece. Large amounts of magnesium are also present in the minerals in the Earth's mantle.

Magnesium alloyed with aluminum and traces of other metals is used in car and aircraft construction; magnesium alloys are also used in other lightweight devices, such ladders, cameras, bicycle frames, hard disk drives, etc.

Magnesium is more easily oxidized than iron, and is used in sacrificial anodes to protect iron pipes and other structures that corrode easily. Magnesium burns in air with a brilliant white flame , and is used in fireworks and incendiary bombs. It used to be used in disposable flashbulbs, but this use has been supplanted by other types of illumination. Magnesium fires are very difficult to put out, since even in the absence of air, burning magnesium reacts with nitrogen to form magnesium nitride Mg 3 N 2 , and with water to produce magnesium hydroxide and hydrogen gas.

Magnesium is found in a number of familiar compounds. Magnesium hydroxide, Mg OH 2 , also known as milk of magnesia, is a laxative and antacid. The "milk" in "milk of magnesia" refers to the fact that since magnesium hydroxide is not very soluble in water, it tends to form a chalky, white suspension that looks like milk — but with considerably different physiological effects.

Green plants contain a molecule called chlorophyll , which consists of a flat ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms with a large open space in the middle, in which a magnesium ion is bound, held in place by the nitrogen atoms.

The chlorophyll molecule absorbs light from the sun, and in the process of photosynthesis, the energy from the light is converted into chemical energy that the plant can use to power a multitude of processes. In organic chemistry, magnesium reacts with bromoalkanes hydrocarbons containing carbon-bromine bonds to form organomagnesium compounds known as Grignard reagents after their discoverer, Victor Grignard, who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, These compounds are extremely useful in forming new carbon-carbon bonds, and are often used in the synthesis of organic compounds.

Grignard reagents are notoriously sensitive to water, and care must be taken to ensure that the apparatus in which the reaction is being carried out is extremely dry. Calcium is a silver-colored, relatively soft metal. The name of the element is derived from the Latin word for lime, calx. It is found in the Earth's crust at a concentration of 4. Since calcium forms such hard minerals, it is useful in building materials, such as plaster, mortar, and cement.

This group commonly loses the two s orbital electrons found in their outermost energy level. The remaining ion then has the desired complete octet of s and p orbital electrons in its outermost energy level. Chemical Properties One of the signature properties of this group of elements is that they become increasingly soluble with a decrease in temperature.

This is usually true only for gases. Just imagine stirring sugar into a glass of tea. Those higher pH levels means that they are defined as "basic" or "alkaline" solutions. A Family Portrait Who's in the family? The members of the alkaline earth metals include: beryllium Be , magnesium Mg , calcium Ca , strontium Sr , barium Ba and radium Ra.

As with all families, these elements share traits. While not as reactive as the alkali metals, this family knows how to make bonds very easily. Each of them has two electrons in their outer shell. Sometimes you will see them with two halogen atoms, as with beryllium fluoride BeF 2 , and sometimes they might form a double bond, as with calcium oxide CaO. It's all about giving up those electrons to have a full outer shell.