Group 15

Group 15

Bismuth, the heaviest member of group 15, is a less reactive metal than the other representative metals. It readily gives up three of its five valence electrons to active nonmetals to form the tri-positive ion, Bi³⁺. It forms compounds with the group oxidation state of 5+ only when treated with strong oxidizing agents. The stability of the 3+-oxidation state is another example of the inert pair effect.