Metals refer to those substances having certain fundamental properties such as ductility, malleability, luster, conductivity, and a solid feel to the touch. These inherent factors are part of the physical properties of metals and non metals, which separate them into the two categories. We can find many natural occurrences of metals on earth, including gold, iron, copper, silver.

The chemical properties of metals include corrosion, resistance, combustibility, and reactivity, among others. There are methods to neutralise some of these properties. For instance, you can follow techniques such as galvanization, painting, and polishing for the prevention of corrosion.

Here’s an interesting fact: Did you know silver is the most conductive metal on the elements table?

Nonmetals are substances that differ in their physical properties when compared to metals. They are non-ductile, non-malleable, non-shiny, non-fusible, and can be broken easily. Generally, they are bad conductors of electricity. They are used to make resistors in electrical circuits, among other uses. Some examples of nonmetals are oxygen, carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, etc.

Nonmetals are extensively used to make fertilizers and antiseptics. Oxygen, being a life-carrying agent, comprises 21% of the total atmospheric gases.

An interesting fact about nonmetals: Did you know that graphite is a good conductor of electricity despite being a nonmetal? It is an exceptional case among nonmetals.

Let’s take an example of metal sodium (Na) and nonmetal chlorine (Cl). Sodium is an electropositive element with valence 1, and chlorine is an electronegative element with valency 1.

1. Any electropositive element has a tendency to donate the valence electrons as, by doing so, it can achieve an inert gas configuration and become stable. Sodium is an electropositive element. It has a single extra electron in its outer valence shell that it looks to donate to any electronegative element to gain stability.
2. Similarly, any electronegative element is any element having more than 5 electrons in its valence shell. Hence, they accept the remaining number of electrons from any donating species to gain the inert gas configuration for stability. In this example, chlorine has 7 valence electrons, and hence 1 space for electrons is still empty. It can thus accept 1 electron to gain stability.

Keeping the play of valence electrons in mind, you can predict the outcome when metals and non metals react. In our case, when the sodium reacts with chlorine, the extra valence electron in the sodium is donated to the electronegative chlorine, forming an ionic bond between them. Ionic bonds are fairly strong bonds and can hold both elements together to form a single compound known as sodium chloride (NaCl).

Let us now understand the properties of ionic compounds.

Properties of ionic compounds

1. Physical state: Ionic bond compounds are solid and mildly hard. However, they are brittle and can break with the application of pressure.
2. Melting and boiling point: They have fairly high melting and boiling points.
3. Conductivity: Since the formation of bonds is due to ions transfer, the solution is conductive and plays a major role in making the conventional cells.

You must have heard about mines and valleys from where metals are extracted. Let’s now take an overview of this topic

Metals are found in ‘free state’ in nature in the form of ores. These ores are rich in minerals (metals and non metals) and are converted into a molten state to extract the desired minerals. The metal extraction process follows the rules of the reactivity series of metals, wherein the metals at the bottom of the reactivity series are least reactive. This reactivity series is used to group the metals into three categories and then carry out a specialized extraction process for different series.

During the extraction of ores as part of the mining process, we can find many impurities like soil, sand, etc., mixed in the ore. These impurities, referred to as ‘gauge’, are removed before the extraction process, so that we get refined metals during the extraction process.

Metals and non-metals are inherent parts of nature and help us make different things for our use. We use soaps, play with balls, drink water; many more elements of our daily life have metals and non metals as their composing material. The physical properties of metals and non metals differ from each other and help us understand their differences in their naturally occurring state.

1. What are metals and non metals?

Metals and non metals are naturally occurring substances found on earth. They are used to build a variety of things which we can feel around us and use in our daily lives. E.g., gold, copper, sodium, oxygen, etc.

2. What is metal and nonmetal, with example?

Metals are substances having properties such as ductility, malleability, sonorous, lustre, and conductivity. Their examples include gold, silver, iron, and copper.

Nonmetals are substances not having ductility, malleability, and sonorous properties, and they are different from metals. Their examples include oxygen, sulphur, and chlorine.

3. What are the 7 properties of metals?

The 7 properties of metals are ductility, malleability, sonorous, lustre, conductivity, high melting and boiling points, and hard solid surface.

4. What is example of metal?

Examples of metals include iron, copper, aluminium, tungsten, gold, and silver.

5. What are the types of metals?

The different types of metals are ferrous metals, nonferrous metals, and alloys. Alloys are a mixture of metals with their proportions fixed in a particular ratio.