Discuss the extraction of lithium.

What difficulties arise in the extraction of lithium?

What happens when:
(i) Lithium reacts with air
(ii) Lithium reacts with water
(iii) Lithium reacts with halogen
(iv) Lithium reacts with acids?

Account for the following:
(i) Lithium can not form monovalent cation (Li⁺) easily.
(ii) Lithium iodide is more covalent than lithium fluoride.

Name a few important uses of lithium.

How does sodium occur in nature? Name the chief ores of sodium.

What difficulities arise in the extraction of sodium? How these difficulties are overcome?

Discuss Down's process for the isolation of sodium. 

Why is sodium kept under kerosene oil?

What happens when:
(i) sodium reacts with hydrogen halide,
(ii) sodium reacts with acetylene,
(iii) sodium is heated with hydrogen and
(iv) sodium is treated with mercury ?