Why does the amount of protons in an element wildly change its properties? For example: why is two protons a gas, but suddenly three protons is a metallic solid?
In: 109
It’s less about the protons and more about the electrons.
The reactivity of an element is directly related to the number of electrons it has in its outer valence shell. The periodic table literally shows you how many electrons will fit in that shell (number of elements in that row) and the number of electrons that element has in that shell (left-most is 1, right most is full).
The farther to the left, the more likely the atom will lose an electron. The right most (with the exception of the noble gases) are more likely to capture an electron. The ones in the middle have more spaces and can gain/load more.
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