Elements in the same --- share similar characteristics or properties. A. group or family
B. period
C. genus
D. none of the above

alkaline metals are lithium, sodium, rubidium, potassium, cesium and francium.

alkali metals have electronegativity from 0.7 to 1, lowest in periodic table of elements, which means that alkali metals (i group in periodic table) has positive oxidation number in compounds.

electronegativity is a chemical property that describes the tendency of an atom to attract a shared pair of electrons towards itself.

alkaline metals (far left in main group) have lowest ionizations energy and easy remove valence electrons,

for example, potassium is the alkali metal and has a single valence electron in the outer electron shell.

electron configuration of potassium is: ₁₉k 1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶4s¹.

they can not exist alone in nature, because they are very reactive.

answer: e.   sour taste

explanation: acids are those substances which dissociates in water to give ions. as they dissociate to give ions, they act as electrolytes and thus are electrically conductive. acids are sour in taste. example: hcl

bases are those substances which dissociates in water to give ions or accepts ions. as they dissociate to give ions, they act as electrolytes and thus are electrically conductive. bases are bitter in taste. bases are slippery in nature.