Question

You are given a hammer, a battery, a bulb, wires and a switch.

(a) How could you use them to distinguish between samples of metals and non-metals?
(b) Assess the usefulness of these tests in distinguishing between metals and non-metals.

Answer 1

(a) If the substance can be hammered to convert into sheets then it is metal if it is broken into pieces then it is non-metal.

(b) Set up the circuit arrangement using bulb, battery, wire and switch. Place the object between the ends of circuit. If the bulb starts glowing then the substance is a metal otherwise it is non-metal because metals are good conductor of electricity.

Generally above methods can be used to identify metals and non-metals. But there are some exceptions also for example sodium is metal which is not malleable in fact it is brittle. Graphite, allotrope of non-metal carbon, is a good conductor of electricity.