Chemistry · Chapter 07
🪙 Metals & Non-metals
Properties that define them.
💡 Two Big Families
Metals share these properties:
• Shiny (lustrous) when polished
• Malleable — can be hammered into sheets
• Ductile — can be drawn into wires
• Good conductors of heat and electricity
• Solid at room temperature (except mercury 🌡️)
Non-metals are the opposite:
• Dull (no shine)
• Brittle — break when hit
• Poor conductors
• Can be solid (sulphur), liquid (bromine), or gas (oxygen)
Metals tend to lose electrons and form cations (+). Non-metals tend to gain electrons and form anions (−). That's why they make great bonding partners.
Copper electrolysis — refining metals using electricityWikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
Metals vs non-metals in periodic tableWikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
🎬
Metal vs Non-metal — Hammer Test
AnimationHammer a metal — it flattens. Hammer a non-metal — it cracks. That's malleability in action.
🧪
Metal or Non-metal?
ExperimentPick a substance — see its properties.
TypeMetal
PropertiesShiny, hard, conducts
Iron is the most used metal — buildings, cars, bridges. Easily magnetized.