Which of the following statements about group 2 metals is true?

Group 2 metals, also known as alkaline earth metals, exhibit certain trends in their chemical behavior and the solubility of their compounds as you move down the group in the periodic table. The statement that group 2 metals form less soluble sulfates down the group is accurate.

As you move from beryllium to barium, the solubility of their sulfates decreases. Beryllium sulfate is quite soluble in water, while barium sulfate is largely insoluble. This trend is attributed to the increasing ionic size and decreasing lattice energy of their sulfates as the size of the metal ion increases. Larger metal ions do not stabilize the sulfate ion as effectively as smaller ions like beryllium, thus leading to lower solubility for the heavier group 2 metal sulfates.

This understanding helps clarify specific trends in solubility for group 2 compounds and highlights important characteristic behaviors of these metals.