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Metals, Nonmetals, Metalloids

metals - make up 3/4 of the periodic table, in left/middle part  

  • shiny luster
  • malleable (can be pounded into thin sheets)/ductile (can be drawn into wires)
  • good conductors of heat/electricity
  • tend to form cations (have low ionization energies) in aqueous solutions
  • compounds of metals w/ nonmetals tend to be ionic
  • most metal oxides are basic (form hydroxides when dissolved in water)
  • metal oxides w/ acid form salt
  • alkali metals (group 1A) - soft metallic solids
    • have the lowest I1 on each row
    • hydride ion - H-; bonds w/ alkali metals to form hydrides
    • reacts exothermically w/ water
    • superoxide - O2-; combines w/ potassium, rubidium, cesium
    • emit certain colors when heated by a flame
  • alkaline earth metals (group 2A) - denser/harder than alkali metals
    • less reactive than alkali metals
    • Mg used for lightweight structure alloys because layer of MgO protects it from other chemicals

nonmetals - on right side of periodic table  

  • no luster, has various appearances
  • poor conductors of heat/electricity
  • most nonmetal oxides are acids
  • tend to form anions/oxyanions in aqueous solutions
  • molecular substances - compounds made up only of nonmetals
  • hydrogen - doesn't really belong in a particular group
    • exists as H2 gas in most conditions
    • can be metallic at very high pressures
    • has much higher I1 than other alkali metals (lacks any type of nuclear shielding)
  • oxygen group (group 6A)
    • elements change from nonmetal to metal as you go down the group
    • allotrope - different form of same element in same state
    • ozone - O3, less stable than O2
    • sulfur - exists naturally as S8 rings
  • halogens (group 7A) - aka "salt formers"
    • melting/boiling points increase as atomic number increases
    • very highly negative electron affinities
    • Cl - most industrially useful halogen
    • forms halide compounds w/ hydrogen
  • noble gases (group 8A) - monoatomic nonmetals, gas at room temperature
    • have completely filled s and p subshells
    • very unreactive

metalloids - have properties intermediate between metals/nonmetals  

  • have only some metallic properties, but lack others
  • many used as electrical semiconductors, integrated circuits
Subject: 
Chemistry
Subject X2: 
Chemistry

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