Periodic table (metals and nonmetals)

Elements by periodic table can be divided up into metal, nonmetal, and metalloids (in between) based on their properties. Everything from the left to the metalloid "stairstep" is a metal, and everything to the right is a nonmetal. As you can see by looking at the periodic table, most elements are metals. Here is a list of common metal characteristics:

Metals–nonmetals in the periodic table
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Group →
↓ Period
1	1 H																	2 He
2	3 Li	4 Be											5 B	6 C	7 N	8 O	9 F	10 Ne
3	11 Na	12 Mg											13 Al	14 Si	15 P	16 S	17 Cl	18 Ar
4	19 K	20 Ca	21 Sc	22 Ti	23 V	24 Cr	25 Mn	26 Fe	27 Co	28 Ni	29 Cu	30 Zn	31 Ga	32 Ge	33 As	34 Se	35 Br	36 Kr
5	37 Rb	38 Sr	39 Y	40 Zr	41 Nb	42 Mo	43 Tc	44 Ru	45 Rh	46 Pd	47 Ag	48 Cd	49 In	50 Sn	51 Sb	52 Te	53 I	54 Xe
6	55 Cs	56 Ba	*	72 Hf	73 Ta	74 W	75 Re	76 Os	77 Ir	78 Pt	79 Au	80 Hg	81 Tl	82 Pb	83 Bi	84 Po	85 At	86 Rn
7	87 Fr	88 Ra	**	104 Rf	105 Db	106 Sg	107 Bh	108 Hs	109 Mt	110 Ds	111 Rg	112 Cn	113 Uut	114 Fl	115 Uup	116 Lv	117 Uus	118 Uuo
* Lanthanides				57 La	58 Ce	59 Pr	60 Nd	61 Pm	62 Sm	63 Eu	64 Gd	65 Tb	66 Dy	67 Ho	68 Er	69 Tm	70 Yb	71 Lu
** Actinides				89 Ac	90 Th	91 Pa	92 U	93 Np	94 Pu	95 Am	96 Cm	97 Bk	98 Cf	99 Es	100 Fm	101 Md	102 No	103 Lr
Background color shows metals and nonmetals in the periodic table: Metal Metalloid Nonmetal Unknown properties Color of the atomic number shows state of matter (at 0 °C and 1 atm): black=Solid green=Liquid red=Gas grey=Unknown Border shows natural occurrence of the element: Primordial From decay Synthetic

Silver Crystal (example of a metal)

1. Shiny 2. Good conductor of heat and electricity 3. High melting point 4. Malleable (this means that they can be hammered or distorted) 5. Ductile (this means that they can be drawn into wires) 6. Usually solid at room temperature. An exception to this is mercury. 7. Generally have low electronegativities

The structure and bonding of metals is also unique. A metallic substance has atoms that are closing packed to their neighboring atoms. There are two common arrangements for metals. One of which is the body-centered cubic. In this arrangement each atoms is at the center of eight other atoms. The other arrange is called the face-centered cubic, and this is the same as the body-centered cubic except the atom is the center of six other atoms. Thee arrangements cause a crystal structure.

As far as bonding goes, metals easily lose their outer shell electrons, or valence electrons. This prorperty is what gives them their ability to easily conduct heat and electricity.

There are sub-groups of metals called the alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and transition metals.

Similarly to nonmetals, the important of metals is not calculable. They are required for life and for the countless human industrial endeavors. Below is a list of common nonmetal characteristics:

1. Not shiny 2. Usually poor conductors of heat and electricity 3. May be solids, liquids, or gas at room temperature 4. Generally have high electronegativities 5. Noductile and brittle solids

Nonmetal atoms are generally small and contain relatively large numbers of electrons in their out shell. The noble gas nonmetals have completely filled outer electron shells, and most nonmetals have almost filled outer shells. This is contrasted to the metals who have a small amount of electrons in their outer shell. Nonmetals are also divided into sub-groups like the metals. These are called the halogens and the noble gases.

Nonmetals are very broad and encompass many types of behaviors. They are generally identified by their not being metals. You may have noticed that the properties of nonmetals are not very unique and are mostly the opposite of the metal characteristics. However this does not mean that they are not important. Nonmetals make up most of the crust, atmosphere, and oceans of the earth. Additionally, most of what comprises a living organism is made of nonmetals such as carbon and nitrogen,hydrogen and phosphorus. These are some of the building blocks of all life. Almost everything in organic life can be brought back to nonmetal elements and molecules.

A knowledge of metals and nonmetals is absolutely essential for science and understanding the world.