Highly reactive metals function as reducing agents by displacing metals of lower reactivity from their compounds through displacement reactions. They donate electrons to the metal ions, causing them to be reduced to their elemental form.
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Highly reactive metals function as reducing agents by readily donating electrons to other substances, promoting reduction reactions. In these metals, the outer electron shell is loosely held, making it easy for them to lose electrons and achieve a stable configuration. When a highly reactive metal comes into contact with a compound that can accept electrons (e.g., metal oxides or compounds with oxidized elements), the metal undergoes oxidation by donating electrons to the other substance. This electron donation reduces the other substance, leading to the extraction of metals from their ores or the reduction of various compounds in chemical reactions.