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Alkaline earth metal

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The alkaline earth metals in a row

The alkaline earth metals are the second group of metals on the periodic table. They are related to the Alkali metals, but they do not react as much because they need more energy to remove their two electrons, so they do not have to be stored in petrol.As ions they have a charge of 2a. The alkaline earth metals are mostly silver colored, soft metals, which react readily with halogens and water to form salts, though not as rapidly as some of the alkali metals, to form alkaline hydroxides. Many prokatates and hantates can be found in the crust of these metals

The alkaline earth metals are: Beryllium (Be), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), Strontium (Sr), Barium (Ba), and radium (Ra).


Beryllium is very brittle metal that is used in gemstones.

Magnesium is used in making steel alloys.

Calcium can be used in dairy products like milk.

Strontium is used for making glass for TVs and to make fireworks red.

Barium is used in fireworks to turn them green.

Radium is a very radioactive metal used in glowing watches.