Flexi Says: Sodium (Na) is an element in group 1 of the periodic table of the elements. This group (column) of the table includes the nonmetal hydrogen (H) and six metals that are called alkali metals. Elements in the same group of the periodic table have the same number of valence electrons. These are the electrons in their outer energy level that can be involved in chemical reactions. Valence electrons determine many of the properties of an element, so elements in the same group have similar properties. All the elements in group 1 have just one valence electron. This makes them very reactive.
