Lesson: Physical Properties of Metals and Nonmetals Science

In this lesson, we will learn how to identify and describe the physical properties of metals and nonmetals.

Lesson Plan

Students will be able to

list properties of metals, such as being lustrous, conductors of heat and electricity, malleable, and ductile,
know that metals can be characterized by having less than 4 electrons in their outer shell,
know that metals tend to lose electrons during chemical reactions to form positive ions,
list properties of nonmetals, such as lacking luster, being neither malleable nor ductile (being brittle), and being bad conductors of heat and electricity (with the exception of graphite),
know that nonmetals can be characterized by having more than 4 electrons in their outer shell,
know that nonmetals tend to gain electrons during chemical reactions to form negative ions,
identify whether an element is a metal or a nonmetal from descriptions or images,
identify and briefly describe metalloids, which are elements with metal and nonmetal properties.

Lesson Worksheet

Q1:

What property of metals allows them to be drawn into thin wires?

Q2:

A chemist finds a sample of a shiny liquid in the back of a storage cabinet. Despite being a liquid at room temperature, the sample has many properties of a metal. Which element might the liquid be?

Q3:

At room temperature, all of the elements that are metals are solid, apart from one exception. In which states of matter can nonmetal elements exist at room temperature?