Alkali metals are the chemical elements in group 1 of the periodic table. They are silver-coloured when pure, soft and have only one valence electron. They like to make reactions in which they give up this single electron and then have a charge of +1. They react strongly with water and because of this, they have to be stored in oil. Alkali metals are the first group in the periodic table. They are never found in nature uncombined because they are unstable and they react fast to other elements. They bond well with all elements except the noble gases. When they are in air, they quickly turn black.
