Metals vs Non-Metals
Compare the physical and chemical properties of metals and non-metals, explaining metallic properties (malleability, lustre, conductivity) and how position in the periodic table predicts reactivity
What a learner can do afterwards
- Lists physical properties typical of metals (shiny, malleable, good conductor) and non-metals
- Explains why metals are used in wires, cookware, and construction based on their properties
- Uses the periodic table to predict whether an element is likely to be reactive or unreactive
- Explains what lustre and malleability mean in terms of real-world observations
1 · Read
Look at a substance. Is it shiny and bendy, or dull and easy to snap? That tells you if it is a metal or a non-metal. Metals are usually shiny (this shine is called lustre), malleable (they bend into new shapes without breaking), and good conductors of heat and electricity. Non-metals are often dull, brittle (they crack instead of bending), and poor conductors, though there are exceptions.
A copper wire bends around a corner and still carries electricity to a lamp. An aluminium pot spreads heat evenly across its base. A steel beam holds up a building without snapping. Each job picks a metal because of its malleability and conductivity.
Check the periodic table to guess reactivity. Metals near the bottom left, like sodium and potassium, react fast and can even fizz in water. Non-metals near the top right react fast too, except the noble gases in the very last column, which barely react with anything.
Shiny, bendy, and a good conductor points to a metal; dull, brittle, and a poor conductor points to a non-metal, and the periodic table hints at how reactive each one will be.
More to read
The periodic table
The periodic table is like a map of all the elements. It's organized by atomic number, which is the number of protons in an atom's nucleus. Elements in the same column, called a group, behave similarly because they have the same number of valence electrons. The table splits into metals on the left, nonmetals on the right, and metalloids along the stair-step line in between. Metals are shiny, malleable, and good conductors of heat and electricity. Nonmetals are the opposite, dull, brittle, poor conductors. Metalloids sit in the middle with a mix of properties.
Metallic bonds
Metallic bonding is what gives metals their superpowers. Picture a sea of electrons flowing freely around a lattice of positive metal ions. This electron sea explains why metals conduct electricity so well, the electrons can move anywhere. It also explains malleability, when you hammer a metal, the ion layers can slide past each other without breaking bonds because the electron sea just adjusts. That same bonding gives metals their shiny lustre, since the free electrons reflect light.
18.3 Structure and General Properties of the Metalloids
The metalloids, boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony, and tellurium, form a staircase dividing metals from nonmetals. They look metallic but behave more like nonmetals chemically. Silicon and germanium are semiconductors, the foundation of modern electronics. Boron compounds are used in heat-resistant glass. Arsenic and antimony alloys harden lead for batteries. These elements don't fit neatly into either category, which is exactly why they're so useful.
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2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.