3.2 Physical properties of metals and non-metals
Summary: The sculpture in Figure 1 is made from pieces of metal. How can you tell that it is metal? Tags: science oxford-science student-book-7 chemistry Created: 2026-05-19 Last Updated: 2026-05-19
After this topic, you will be able to:
- use the Periodic Table to find out whether a given element is a metal or non-metal
- define physical properties
- describe the physical properties of typical metal and non-metal Elements.
Think back
- List three metal elements and one non-metal element.
- Write the meaning of melting point.
- The chemical symbol of copper is Cu. Explain what Chemical Symbols are.
Key idea The Periodic Table lists all the elements. Elements with similar properties are grouped together.
Key words physical property, metalloid
The sculpture in Figure 1 is made from pieces of metal. How can you tell that it is metal?
Figure 1Metal sculpture
How are elements organized?
In total, about 100 elements exist naturally. Each element has its own properties, so it would be difficult to remember them all.
Fortunately, there are patterns in the properties of elements. Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev used these patterns to create the Periodic Table. The modern Periodic Table lists all the elements that scientists know. It groups together elements with similar properties. Figure 2 shows the Periodic Table.
Figure 2The Periodic Table. Full text alternative to the content
A Find the elements copper, sulfur, and germanium in the Periodic Table.
Metal or non-metal?
There are several ways of sorting, or classifying, elements. One classification has two categories: metals and non-metals. In the Periodic Table, metals are on the left of the red line in Figure 2. Non-metals are on the right. Figure 3 shows a metal – silver. Figure 4 shows a non-metal – sulfur.
Figure 3Silver is a metal.
Figure 4Sulfur is a non-metal.
B Find molybdenum in the Periodic Table. Predict whether it is a metal or a non-metal.
How can you tell whether an element is a metal or a non-metal? You can look at its properties. Table 1 shows some properties of metal and non-metal elements. Table 1 Properties of metal and non-metal elements. Properties of a typical metal (when solid)
Properties of a typical non-metal (when solid)
good conductor of electricity
poor conductor of electricity
good conductor of thermal Energy (heat)
poor conductor of thermal energy
shiny
dull
high density
low density
malleable (you can hit it into different shapes)
brittle (breaks easily)
ductile (you can pull it into wires)
brittle
sonorous (makes a ringing Sound when hit)
not sonorous
Most metals have high melting points. They are usually solid at 20 °C. Many non-metals have low boiling points. For example, oxygen and chlorine are in the gas state at 20 °C.
Melting and boiling points, and the properties in Table 1, are physical properties. They describe properties you can see or measure without changing the material.
C State six physical properties of a typical non-metal.
Do all elements fit the pattern?
Most elements are easy to group as metals or non-metals. But the system is not perfect. Mercury is a metal, but is in the liquid state at 20 °C. One form of the non-metal element carbon, graphite, is a good conductor of electricity.
The elements near the red line in the Periodic Table, like germanium and silicon, are metalloids. Their properties are between those of metals and non-metals. Most metalloids are shiny. They are semiconductors of electricity. This means they are between conductors and insulators.
Stretch zone
- Copy and complete the sentence. The physical properties/reactions of a substance are properties that you can see and measure with/without changing the material.
- Sort these elements into two lists: metals and non-metals. Use the Periodic Table in Figure 2 to help. Elements: chlorine, copper, magnesium, oxygen, sulfur, zinc.
Stretch zone
- Compare the physical properties of metals and non-metals.