Metals and Non-Metals Introductory Chemistry Tutorial

Key Concepts

Elements can be classified as either metals or non-metals (nonmetals) on the basis of their properties.

Physical properties include:
⚛ appearance

⚛ density

⚛ melting point and boiling point

⚛ conductivity of heat and electricity

⚛ tensile strength (resistance to bending)

⚛ malleability (ability to roll into sheets)

⚛ ductility (ability to draw into a wire)

Chemical properties include:
⚛ charge on ions formed from the element

⚛ type of bonding found in the element's oxides and chlorides

⚛ pH of the element's oxide

Metals are found on the left hand side of the Periodic Table while non-metals are found on the right hand side.

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Properties of Metallic and Non-Metallic Elements

Some properties of metallic elements and non-metallic elements are given in the table below:

Properties of Metals and Non-metals
Property	Metallic Elements	Non-Metallic Elements
Appearance (physical property)	lustrous	dull
Density (physical property)	moderate to high	low to moderate
Physical State (25°C, 101.3kPa) (physical property)	solid (except liquid mercury)	solid, liquid or gas
Melting and Boiling Point (physical property)	moderate to high	wide range
Heat and Electrical Conductivity (physical property)	good	poor (except graphite)
Tensile Strength (resistance to bending) (physical property)	high	brittle
Malleability (roll into sheets) (physical property)	malleable	not malleable
Ductility (draw into wire) (physical property)	ductile	not ductile
Charge on Ions (in general)⁽¹⁾ (chemical property)	forms positive ions (cations)	forms negative ions (anions)
Bonding in oxides and chlorides (chemical property)	usually ionic⁽²⁾	covalent
pH of oxides (chemical property)	usually basic⁽³⁾	usually acidic

Comparing the Properties of Some Metallic Elements and Non-metallic Elements

The table below compares the properties of the metallic elements magnesium and zinc with the properties of the non-metallic elements oxygen and sulfur:

Property	Metal		Non-Metal
Property	magnesium	zinc	oxygen	sulfur
Density (g mL^-1)	1.74	7.14	0.0013	2.07
Melting Point (°C)	650	419	-219	113
Electrical Conductivity (megaohm^-1)	23	16	0	10^-21
Charge on Ion	2+	2+	2-	2-
Bonding in Oxides	MgO ionic	ZnO ionic	O₂ covalent	SO₂ covalent

Notice that:

Metals (magnesium and zinc) have greater density than non-metals (oxygen and sulfur)

Metals (magnesium and zinc) have higher melting points than non-metals (oxygen and sulfur)

Metals (magnesium and zinc) are more able to conduct electricity than non-metals (oxygen and sulfur)

Metals (magnesium and zinc) form positively charged ions (2+) while non-metals (oxygen and sulfur) form negatively charged ions (2-)

Metals (magnesium and zinc) form ionic oxides while non-metals (oxygen and sulfur) form covalent oxides.

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Position of Metallic and Non-Metallic Elements in the Periodic Table

Metals	Metals occur on the left hand side of the Periodic Table.
Non-metals	Non-metals occur on the right hand side of the Periodic Table.
Semi-metals (metalloids)	Semi-metals (metalloids) with properties in between metals and non-metals occur between these two groups. (B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te)

metals

non-metals

Transition Metals

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Footnotes:

(1) Some non-metals can form positive or negative ions, for example, hydrogen can form the ions H⁺ and H^-

(2) Some metal oxides are covalent, for example, Al₂O₃

(3) Some metal oxides are amphoteric (both acidic and basic), for example, Al₂O₃