What makes a metal

Sign in to read this lesson

Lessons are for learners and teachers with an account. Browsing the curriculum — subjects, strands and what each sub-strand covers — stays open to everyone.

• 8 sections of explanation, worked examples and diagrams
• 1 practice task with hints and worked answers
• A quiz that marks itself as you go
• Your progress kept across every subject you take

Other lessons in this sub-strand

1. Position and electron arrangement
2. Ions, formulae and equations
3. How the periodic table was invented
4. Mendeleev's gaps and predictions
5. Moseley and atomic number order
6. Layout of the modern table
7. Groups as chemical families
8. Periods and electron shells
9. The first twenty elements on the table
10. Hydrogen's special position
11. Metals, non-metals and metalloids
12. What makes a metal
13. What makes a non-metal
14. The metalloid staircase
15. The alkali metals
16. The alkaline earth metals
17. The halogens
18. The noble gases
19. The transition metals
20. Trends in atomic radius
21. Trends in ionisation energy
22. Trends in melting point
23. Trends in reactivity
24. Soda ash and salt from Kenya
25. Limestone and fluorspar
26. Kenyan metal ores
27. Predicting properties from position
28. The table as a working tool