Their chemistry is dominated by the loss of their lone valence electron in the outermost s-orbital to form the +1 oxidation state, due to the ease of ionising this electron and the very high second ionisation energy.
ðɛɹ kˈɛmɪstɹi ɪz dˈɑːmᵻnˌeɪɾᵻd baɪ ðə lˈɔs ʌv ðɛɹ lˈoʊn vˈeɪləns ᵻlˈɛktɹɑːn ɪnðɪ ˈaʊɾɚmˌoʊst ˈɛsˈɔːɹbɪɾəl tə fˈɔːɹm ðə plˈʌs wˈʌn ˌɑːksɪdˈeɪʃən stˈeɪt, dˈuː tə ðɪ ˈiːz ʌv ˈaɪənˌaɪzɪŋ ðɪs ᵻlˈɛktɹɑːn ænd ðə vˈɛɹi hˈaɪ sˈɛkənd ˌaɪənəzˈeɪʃən ˈɛnɚdʒi.