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Physical Properties
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High Yield·26/28 papers · 5 years
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By the end of this lesson, you'll solve:

"Why can you bend an aluminium foil but not a piece of coal? The answer reveals a fundamental difference between metals and non-metals!"

Metals - The Shiny, Strong Family

Think about the things in your kitchen - steel pots, aluminium foil, copper wires. Metals have special physical properties that make them incredibly useful!

Reactivity Series of MetalsMost ReactiveLeast ReactiveKPotassiumNaSodiumCaCalciumMgMagnesiumAlAluminiumZnZincFeIronPbLeadCuCopperAgSilverAuGoldPtPlatinumVery ReactiveReact vigorouslywith cold waterModerateReact with diluteacids, not waterLeast ReactiveFound free innature (native)← H₂ reference lineMore reactive metal displaces less reactive from its salt solutionExample: Zn + CuSO₄ → ZnSO₄ + Cu (Zn displaces Cu)

Key Points

  • 1
    LUSTRE: Metals are shiny when freshly cut (that "metallic shine")
  • 2
    MALLEABILITY: Can be beaten into thin sheets (aluminium foil!)
  • 3
    DUCTILITY: Can be drawn into thin wires (copper wires in your phone charger)
  • 4
    CONDUCTIVITY: Great conductors of heat and electricity
  • 5
    HARDNESS: Generally hard (except sodium - soft enough to cut with a knife!)
  • 6
    STATE: All solid at room temperature (except mercury - it is liquid!)

Pro Tip

Gold is the most malleable metal - one gram of gold can be beaten into a sheet covering 1 square metre! That is why gold leaf is so thin you can see through it.

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