Why is red phosphorus less reactive than white phosphorus?


White phosphorus is built up of separate tetrahedrons that are subjected to extremely high angular strain due to their angles.
Red phosphorus is a polymer of tetrahedra with a substantially lower angular strain than white phosphorus.
White phosphorus is unstable and very reactive due to the high angular strain.

Final answer:
Hence, red phosphorus is less reactive than white phosphorus because it has a substantially lower angular strain than white phosphorus.