Do Metalloids React With Acid

8.6: Metals, Nonmetals, and Metalloids

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Learning Objectives

To understand the basic properties separating Metals from Nonmetals and Metalloids

An element is the simplest course of matter that cannot exist carve up into simpler substances or built from simpler substances by any ordinary chemic or physical method. There are 118 elements known to us, out of which 92 are naturally occurring, while the residual have been prepared artificially. Elements are further classified into metals, non-metals, and metalloids based on their backdrop, which are correlated with their placement in the periodic tabular array.

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Feature properties of metallic and non-metallic elements:
Metallic Elements	Nonmetallic elements
Distinguishing luster (smooth)	Non-lustrous, diverse colors
Malleable and ductile (flexible) every bit solids	Brittle, hard or soft
Conduct estrus and electricity	Poor conductors
Metallic oxides are basic, ionic	Nonmetallic oxides are acidic, covalent
Class cations in aqueous solution	Form anions, oxyanions in aqueous solution

With the exception of hydrogen, all elements that grade positive ions by losing electrons during chemical reactions are called metals. Thus metals are electropositive elements with relatively low ionization energies. They are characterized by bright luster, hardness, ability to resonate audio and are fantabulous conductors of heat and electricity. Metals are solids nether normal weather condition except for Mercury.

Physical Properties of Metals

Metals are lustrous, malleable, ductile, good conductors of estrus and electricity. Other properties include:

State: Metals are solids at room temperature with the exception of mercury, which is liquid at room temperature (Gallium is liquid on hot days).
Luster: Metals take the quality of reflecting light from their surface and tin can exist polished e.g., gold, silver and copper.
Malleability: Metals have the power to withstand hammering and can exist fabricated into sparse sheets known as foils. For instance, a sugar cube sized chunk of gold can be pounded into a thin sheet that will encompass a football field.
Ductility: Metals can be drawn into wires. For instance, 100 thou of silver tin be fatigued into a sparse wire about 200 meters long.
Hardness: All metals are difficult except sodium and potassium, which are soft and tin can be cut with a knife.
Valency: Metals typically have i to three electrons in the outermost shell of their atoms.
Conduction: Metals are good conductors considering they have free electrons. Silver and copper are the 2 best conductors of heat and electricity. Lead is the poorest conductor of heat. Bismuth, mercury and iron are likewise poor conductors
Density: Metals have high density and are very heavy. Iridium and osmium have the highest densities whereas lithium has the lowest density.
Melting and Humid Points: Metals have high melting and boiling points. Tungsten has the highest melting and humid points whereas mercury has the everyman. Sodium and potassium also accept low melting points.

Chemical Backdrop of Metals

Metals are electropositive elements that generally form basic or amphoteric oxides with oxygen. Other chemical properties include:

Electropositive Graphic symbol: Metals tend to accept low ionization energies, and typically lose electrons (i.e. are oxidized) when they undergo chemical reactions They normally do not have electrons. For example:
- Brine metals are e'er i⁺ (lose the electron in s subshell)
- Alkaline earth metals are e'er 2⁺ (lose both electrons in south subshell)
- Transition element ions do not follow an obvious blueprint, 2⁺ is common (lose both electrons in s subshell), and 1⁺ and 3⁺ are also observed

\[\ce{Na^0 \rightarrow Na^+ + e^{-}} \label{i.1} \]

\[\ce{Mg^0 \rightarrow Mg^{2+} + 2e^{-}} \label{1.2} \]

\[\ce{Al^0 \rightarrow Al^{3+} + 3e^{-}} \characterization{one.3} \]

Compounds of metals with non-metals tend to be ionic in nature. Most metallic oxides are bones oxides and dissolve in water to form metallic hydroxides :

\[\ce{Na2O(south) + H2O(l) \rightarrow 2NaOH(aq)}\label{1.iv} \]

\[\ce{CaO(s) + H2o(l) \rightarrow Ca(OH)2(aq)} \label{1.5} \]

Metallic oxides exhibit their bones chemical nature by reacting with acids to grade metal salts and water:

\[\ce{MgO(s) + HCl(aq) \rightarrow MgCl2(aq) + H2O(50)} \label{one.6} \]

\[\ce{NiO(southward) + H2SO4(aq) \rightarrow NiSO4(aq) + Water(l)} \characterization{ane.7} \]

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

What is the chemical formula for aluminum oxide?

Solution

Al has a 3+ charge, the oxide ion is \(O^{2-}\), thus \(Al_2O_3\).

Example \(\PageIndex{2}\)

Would you expect it to be solid, liquid or gas at room temperature?

Solutions

Oxides of metals are characteristically solid at room temperature

Example \(\PageIndex{3}\)

Write the balanced chemic equation for the reaction of aluminum oxide with nitric acrid:

Solution

Metal oxide + acrid -> salt + water

\[\ce{Al2O3(due south) + 6HNO3(aq) \rightarrow 2Al(NO3)3(aq) + 3H2O(l)} \nonumber \]

Elements that tend to gain electrons to class anions during chemical reactions are called non-metals. These are electronegative elements with high ionization energies. They are non-lustrous, brittle and poor conductors of oestrus and electricity (except graphite). Non-metals can be gases, liquids or solids.

Physical Backdrop of Nonmetals

Physical State: Most of the not-metals exist in two of the iii states of matter at room temperature: gases (oxygen) and solids (carbon). Only bromine exists as a liquid at room temperature.
Non-Malleable and Ductile: Non-metals are very brittle, and cannot be rolled into wires or pounded into sheets.
Conduction: They are poor conductors of heat and electricity.
Luster: These have no metallic luster and practise not reflect light.
Melting and Boiling Points: The melting points of not-metals are more often than not lower than metals, but are highly variable.
Seven non-metals be nether standard conditions as diatomic molecules: \(\ce{H2(g)}\), \(\ce{N2(one thousand)}\), \(\ce{O2(g)}\), \(\ce{F2(g)}\), \(\ce{Cl2(g)}\), \(\ce{Br2(l)}\), \(\ce{I2(s)}\).

Chemical Properties of Nonmetals

Non-metals have a tendency to gain or share electrons with other atoms. They are electronegative in character. Nonmetals, when reacting with metals, tend to proceeds electrons (typically attaining noble gas electron configuration) and become anions:

\[\ce{3Br2(l) + 2Al(south) \rightarrow 2AlBr3(due south)} \nonumber \]

Compounds composed entirely of nonmetals are covalent substances. They more often than not form acidic or neutral oxides with oxygen that that deliquesce in water to form acids:

\[\ce{CO2(g) + Water(50)} \rightarrow \underset{\text{carbonic acid}}{\ce{H2CO3(aq)}} \nonumber \]

Every bit you may know, carbonated water is slightly acidic (carbonic acrid).

Nonmetal oxides tin can combine with bases to class salts.

\[\ce{CO2(1000) + 2NaOH(aq) \rightarrow Na2CO3(aq) + Water(l)} \nonumber \]

Metalloids have properties intermediate between the metals and nonmetals. Metalloids are useful in the semiconductor industry. Metalloids are all solid at room temperature. They can form alloys with other metals. Some metalloids, such as silicon and germanium, can act as electrical conductors under the right atmospheric condition, thus they are called semiconductors. Silicon for case appears lustrous, but is not malleable nor ductile (information technology is brittle - a feature of some nonmetals). Information technology is a much poorer conductor of heat and electricity than the metals. The physical backdrop of metalloids tend to be metallic, but their chemical properties tend to be non-metallic. The oxidation number of an element in this group can range from +5 to -2, depending on the group in which it is located.

Table \(\PageIndex{2}\): Elements categorized into metals, not-metals and metalloids.
Metals	Non-metals	Metalloids
Gilt	Oxygen	Silicon
Silver	Carbon	Boron
Copper	Hydrogen	Arsenic
Iron	Nitrogen	Antimony
Mercury	Sulfur	Germanium
Zinc	Phosphorus

Metal character is strongest for the elements in the leftmost part of the periodic table, and tends to decrease every bit nosotros motion to the correct in whatsoever menses (nonmetallic character increases with increasing electronegativity and ionization energy values). Within any group of elements (columns), the metal character increases from top to lesser (the electronegativity and ionization energy values by and large decrease as we move down a group). This full general trend is not necessarily observed with the transition metals.