Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store

Which amongst the following is the most reactive non-metal?

A. Nitrogen

B. Helium

C. Oxygen

D. Hydrogen

seo-qna
Last updated date: 27th Mar 2024
Total views: 28.2k
Views today: 1.28k
MVSAT 2024
Answer
VerifiedVerified
28.2k+ views

Hint: An element is considered to be more reactive if it loses electrons easily or it can gain them easily. Now just consider all of them and check their reactivity accordingly.


Complete answer:

Non-metals are the elements which form negative ions by accepting or gaining electrons. Non-metals usually have 4, 5, 6 or 7 electrons in their outermost shell.

A nitrogen atom has seven electrons. It has five valence electrons in the 2s and 2p orbitals, three of which (the p-electrons) are unpaired. It is non-metal and has the half filled configuration that makes it stable.

A helium atom has two electrons. It has two valence electrons in the 1s orbital, both of them are unpaired. It has a fully filled configuration and is a noble gas configuration, which is most stable.

An oxygen atom has eight electrons. It has six valence electrons in the 2s and 2p orbitals, two of which (the p-electrons) are unpaired. It is non-metal and has a more than half filled configuration that makes it less stable than nitrogen. Hence it can easily accept electrons from metals.

A hydrogen atom has one electron. It has one valence electron in the 1s orbital, unpaired. It can gain or lose one electron. But it is less reactive than oxygen.

So we can easily conclude that oxygen is the most reactive non-metal among all.


Therefore, the correct answer is option C.


Note: Non-metals are those which lack all the metallic attributes. They are good insulators of heat and electricity. They are mostly gases and sometimes liquid. Some are even solid at room temperatures like Carbon, sulphur and phosphorus.