Metals & Non-Metals (AQA GCSE Chemistry Combined Science): Revision Notes

1.2.3 Metals & Non-Metals

Metals

Examples: Iron, magnesium, and gold are examples of metal elements.

Common Properties:

• Shiny, especially when they are freshly cut.
• Good conductors of heat and electricity.
• Malleable (they can be bent and shaped without breaking).

Additional Properties:

• Solid at room temperature, except mercury.
• Hard and strong.
• High density.
• Sonorous (they make a ringing sound when hit).

Magnetism:

• Three metals (iron, cobalt, and nickel) are magnetic.
• Steel, which is mostly iron, is also magnetic.
• The other metal elements are not magnetic.

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Non-metals

Examples: Oxygen, carbon, sulphur, and chlorine are examples of non-metal elements.

Common Properties:

• Dull (not shiny).
• Poor conductors of heat and electricity (they are insulators).
• Weak and brittle (they easily break or shatter when solid).

Additional Properties:

• Low density (they feel light for their size).
• Not sonorous (they do not make a ringing sound when hit).

States at Room Temperature:

• Eleven non-metals are gases at room temperature, including oxygen and chlorine.
• One non-metal, bromine, is a liquid at room temperature.
• The other non-metals are solids at room temperature, including carbon and sulphur.