The Alkali Metals
Group: 1
The most reactive group of metals – react strongly with cold water.
The alkaline earth metals
Group: 2
Reactive metals – but less reactive than group 1.
The halogens
Group: 17
The most reactive group of non-metals.
The noble gases
Group: 18
A group of very unreactive monatomic gases.
Transition metals
Group: The d-block region
(note that zinc is a d-block element, but is not considered to be a transition metal/element)
Relatively stable metals with only moderate reactivity – useful for construction.