Potassium loses one electron easily to achieve the closest noble gas configuration, thus donating this electron to a halogen atom so that they also attain stable electronic configuration. The halides include potassium fluoride, potassium chloride, potassium bromide, and potassium iodide. Potassium reacts readily with halogens (releasing heat, exothermic reaction) to form ionic halides. During flame, test potassium gives a lilac color as the electrons get excited to the empty orbitals present.ĭue to potassium’s highly reactive nature, potassium is usually stored in kerosene oil so that it does not react to oxygen and moisture in the air. Since there is only one electron in its outer shell, it has low ionization enthalpy and loses an electron easily.
It melts at around 63 degrees Celsius and is a soft solid metal at room temperature. Potassium is the lightest metal after lithium, so it has a very low density. On exposure to oxygen in the air, it begins to tarnish. The isotope with mass number =40 is radioactive in nature. Three isotopes (of mass numbers 39,40 and 41) of potassium can be found in nature. The atomic mass of potassium is 39.09 AMU. K stands for Kalium which is the Latin name for potassium. Potassium is designated with the symbol K. It also has a large radius(atomic radius =227 pm) and can lose one electron easily. Thus potassium is highly electropositive.
Thus we can see that by losing only one electron, it can achieve a stable noble gas configuration. The electronic configuration of potassium is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s1. Like other elements of group 1, potassium has incompletely filled s orbital.