Question

Alkali metals possess metallic lustre when freshly cut because:

• A. They have a hard surface and light is reflected back.
• B. Their crystal structure contains ordered arrangement of constituent atoms
• C. They contain loosely bound electrons which absorb the photons and then re-emit.
• D. They are obtained from the minerals on which light has been falling for years

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

They contain loosely bound electrons which absorb the photons and then re-emit.

Answer 2

The alkali metal atoms have the largest size in a particular period of the periodic table and thus they contain loosely bound electrons which absorb the photons and then re-emit it and producing metallic lustre.