What makes an atom reactive versus inert

Teacher Resource Posted Teaching Tips Here are some of the main ideas students should take away from this video: The location of electrons in an atom can be described as concentric shells around the nucleus of the atom. The number of electrons in the outermost shell of an atom determines its reactivity. Noble gases have low reactivity because they have full electron shells. Halogens are highly reactive because they readily gain an electron to fill their outermost shell. Alkali metals are highly reactive because they readily lose the single electron in their outermost shell.

Why are noble gases sometimes called inert gases? Think of and describe an analogy to help you remember whether noble gases are reactive. In terms of electrons, what do elements located in the same column of the periodic table have in common? Where does that term "noble gases" come from? Are they nobility? Do they rush to rescue maidens? Ionic Bonds.

Ionic bonds are a type of linkage formed from the attraction between oppositely charged ions. Such bonds are created when the outermost electrons of one atom such as sodium are transferred permanently to another atom such as chlorine.

The atom that has lost an electron becomes a positively charged ion called a cation , while the atom that picks up the extra electron becomes a negatively charged ion called an anion. Opposite charges attract one another while similar charges repel one another. So, the ions orient themselves in such a way that every positive ion becomes surrounded by negative ions and every negative ion becomes surrounded by positive ions.

The ions so arrange themselves that the positive and negative charges alternate and balance one another out. Sodium chloride is a solid food additive that is more stable than either of its constituent parts, all because the outermost energy levels of its atoms are filled with electrons.

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She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter. Updated August 17, Featured Video. As the binder does not have any biological effect it may be referred to as a biologically inert ingredient. While chemical inertness and biological inertness are often the same, sometimes a substance can be one and not the other. For example, while xenon does not chemically react in the human body, it nonetheless has biological effects that have been exploited for anesthesia as well as improvement of tissue damage caused by inadequate blood supply ischemia.

Inert materials are good choices for chemical containers. For example, acid waste should not be stored in metal drums because these will quickly corrode. However, glass or polyethylene containers are inert to most acids.

If a chemical spill occurs, one may need to clean up the spill by using an inert absorbing material such as vermiculite or sand. The Safety Data Sheet will usually recommend a specific material, but not always. Assuming your SDS was created using the format required under HCS , spill cleanup information will be found under Section 6 accidental release measures. But be sure to read the rest of the sheet as well, because it's important that you know the physical properties of the material, the health hazards, incompatibilities etc.