General properties of alkaline earth metals are as follow:

Physical Properties:

1) As we go down the group, atomic size increases due to addition of new shells.

2) These metals lose two electrons to acquire noble gas configuration. Therefore, their oxidation state is +2.

3) alkaline earth metals have large size, their ionization enthalpies are found to be fairly low. However, their first ionization enthalpies are higher than the corresponding group 1 metals.

4) As we go down the group, ionisation energy decreases, as it is easy to take out electrons now from shells.

5) Ca, Sr, and Ba impart characteristic colours to flames.

Ca – Brick red

Sr – Crimson red

Ba – Apple green

Chemical properties:

1) Alkaline earth metals react with halogens at high temperatures to form halides.

M +X₂→ MX₂

2) All the alkaline earth metals, except Be, react with hydrogen to form hydrides.

3) They react readily with acids to form salts and liberate hydrogen gas.

M + HCl → MCl₂ + H₂