Question

What are the physical properties of metals and non-metals?

Answer 1

Physical properties of Metals:

• Metals are good conductors of heat and electricity.
• Metals are ductile in nature as they can be drawn into wires.
• They can be drawn into thin sheets, they are malleable in nature.
• Metals are sonorous which means they produce a sound when struck by hard objects.
• Metals are shiny in appearance.
• Some examples of Metals are Aluminium $\left(\mathrm{Al}\right)$, Copper $\left(\mathrm{Cu}\right)$, Gold $\left(\mathrm{Au}\right)$ as well as Platinum $\left(\mathrm{Pt}\right)$.

Physical properties of Non-Metals:

• Non-metals are poor conductors of heat and electricity.
• They are non-lustrous in appearance.
• They are not sonorous, as they do not produce any sound when struck by hard objects.
• Non-metals can not be drawn into thin sheets.
• They can not be drawn into thin wires excluding Carbon as carbon wires are used in industries.
• Some examples of Non-metals are Nitrogen $\left(\mathrm{N}\right)$, Carbon $\left(\mathrm{C}\right)$ as well as Chlorine $\left(\mathrm{Cl}\right)$.