What is the difference between metals

All the objects around us are made up of metals or non-metals. The elements that conduct the features of both metals and non-metals are termed as metalloids. It includes boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, etc.

Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Key Differences Between Metals and Non-metals The difference between metals and non-metals can be drawn clearly on the following premises: The natural elements that are hard, shiny, opaque and dense are metals. The chemical substances that are soft, non-shiny, transparent and brittle, are non-metals. Metals are electropositive in nature as they easily lose electrons, so they are reducing agents.

On the contrary, Non-metals are electronegative because they gain electrons and thus they are oxidising agents. Metals have a crystalline structure, whereas non-metals possess amorphic structure.

At room temperature, metals are usually solid, except mercury and gallium which are in the liquid state. Conversely, non-metals can be found in solid or gaseous form, except Bromine which is the only non-metal that is present in liquid form.

Density is the ratio of mass to volume; metals have a higher density as compared to non-metals. Metals look smooth and shiny, while non-metals usually appear dull. When it comes to hardness, metals are generally hard substance, but it varies from substance to substance. Non Metals. Follow Follow. Differences between metals and nonmetals. Differences in Physical Properties: Sno.

Metals Non-Metals 1 Metals are malleable. Non-metals are non-malleable or brittle. Non-metals are non-ductile 3 Metals are good conductors of heat and electricity. Well, these all were the physical properties of metals and when you look at the chemical properties of metals then they are easily corrodible in nature and are good reducing agents. Another interesting fact about metals is that when it is kept in room temperature they are in their solid state with the only exception of Mercury that is a liquid metal.

You see metals are used for making cooking utensils like pressure cookers and other kinds of stuff. Well, this is because they are good conductors of heat and that is the reason why they are used for cooking purposes.

Non-metallic kinds of stuff cannot be used for cooking purposes because they are not good conductors of heat. Non-metals, on the other hand, are just the opposite of metals where they are bad conductors of heat and electricity. Non-metals like carbon, sulphur, hydrogen, oxygen are not as strong as metals.

Non-metals can be in the liquid state or their gaseous state. Elements that are nonmetals are hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen, sulfur, selenium, all of the halogens, and the noble gases. Nonmetal Physical Properties:. Nonmetal Chemical Properties:. Both metals and nonmetals take different forms allotropes , which have different appearances and properties from each other.

For example, graphite and diamond are two allotropes of the nonmetal carbon, while ferrite and austenite are two allotropes of iron. While nonmetals may have an allotrope that appears metallic, all of the allotropes of metals look like what we think of as a metal lustrous, shiny. The distinction between metals and nonmetals is somewhat fuzzy.

Elements with properties of both metals and nonmetals are called semimetals or metalloids. A stair-step line roughly divides metals from nonmetals on the periodic table. But, chemists recognize that naming one element a "metal" and the one next to it a "metalloid" is a judgement call.

In truth, most metals display the properties of nonmetals under certain conditions, and nonmetals act like metals in some situations. Hydrogen is a good example of an element that acts as a nonmetal some times, but as a metal other times. Under normal conditions, hydrogen is a gas.

As such, it acts like a nonmetal. But, under high pressure it becomes a solid metal. Yet, sometimes it forms the -1 anion a nonmetal property. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.