hydrogen
All alkali metals are very soft and can be cut easily with a knife. Due to their high reactivity, they must be stored under oil to prevent them from reacting with oxygen or water vapor in the air. The reactions between alkali metals and water are particularly vigorous and include the rapid production of large quantities of hydrogen gas. Alkali metals also react easily with most nonmetals. All of the alkali metals are far too reactive to be found in nature in their pure elemental form. For example, all naturally occurring sodium exists as a compound, such as sodium chloride table salt .