For each of the following groups, which metal would you expect to have the highest melting point: (a) gold, rhenium, or cesium; (b) rubidium, molybdenum, or indium; (c) ruthenium, strontium, or cadmium?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The metals with the highest melting points in each group are: (a) Rhenium, (b) Molybdenum, and (c) Ruthenium. This is due to their stronger metallic bonds compared to the other metals in their respective groups.

Step by step solution

01

Group (a): Gold, Rhenium, or Cesium

Gold (Au) and Rhenium (Re) are transition metals, while Cesium (Cs) is an alkali metal. Transition metals have stronger metallic bonds and higher melting points compared to alkali metals. Therefore, Cesium will have a lower melting point compared to Gold and Rhenium. Comparing Gold and Rhenium, Rhenium has a higher melting point because it has stronger metallic bonds due to its larger number of valence electrons available for bonding. Thus, Rhenium has the highest melting point among Gold, Rhenium, and Cesium.
02

Group (b): Rubidium, Molybdenum, or Indium

Rubidium (Rb) is an alkali metal, Molybdenum (Mo) is a transition metal, and Indium (In) is a post-transition metal. As mentioned before, transition metals generally have higher melting points than alkali metals, so Molybdenum will have a higher melting point compared to Rubidium. Now, comparing Molybdenum and Indium, Molybdenum is a group 6 transition metal with more valence electrons, resulting in stronger metallic bonds and a higher melting point. Therefore, Molybdenum has the highest melting point among Rubidium, Molybdenum, and Indium.
03

Group (c): Ruthenium, Strontium, or Cadmium

Ruthenium (Ru) is a transition metal, Strontium (Sr) is an alkaline earth metal, and Cadmium (Cd) is a post-transition metal. Transition metals generally have higher melting points compared to alkali and alkaline earth metals. Thus, Ruthenium will have a higher melting point compared to Strontium. Now we need to compare Ruthenium and Cadmium. Ruthenium is a group 8 transition metal with more valence electrons, which leads to stronger metallic bonds and a higher melting point. As a result, Ruthenium has the highest melting point among Ruthenium, Strontium, and Cadmium.

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