Chemistry Metals and non-metals

Malleability

The property by which metals can be beaten into thin sheets

Ductility

The property of metals by which they can be drawn into thin wires

Good Conductors of Heat

Metals allow heat to pass through them easily like Silver and Copper

Good Conductors of Electricity

Metals offer low resistance to electric current

Sonorous

The property of metals to produce a ringing sound when struck hard

Lustre

The shiny appearance of a clean metal surface

Mercury

A liquid metal at room temperature

Bromine

A liquid non-metal at room temperature

Sodium and Potassium

Alkali metals so soft they can be cut with a knife

Diamond

An allotrope of carbon that is the hardest natural substance known

Gallium and Cesium

Metals with very low melting points that melt on your palm

Graphite

An allotrope of carbon that conducts electricity

Amphoteric Oxides

Metal oxides that react with both acids and bases to produce salt and water

Aqua Regia

A freshly prepared mixture of concentrated HCl and concentrated HNO3 in a 3:1 ratio

Reactivity Series

A list of metals arranged in the order of their decreasing activities

Ionic Compounds

Compounds formed by the transfer of electrons from a metal to a non-metal

Mineral

Naturally occurring elements or compounds found in the earth's crust

Ore

Minerals from which a metal can be extracted profitably and conveniently

Gangue

The unwanted rocky or earthy impurities present in an ore

Roasting

The process of heating sulphide ores strongly in the presence of excess air

Calcination

The process of heating carbonate ores strongly in limited or absence of air

Thermite Reaction

The highly exothermic reaction of iron oxide with aluminum powder used to join railway tracks

Anodic Mud

The insoluble impurities that settle down at the bottom of the anode during electrolytic refining

Galvanisation

A method of protecting iron from rusting by coating it with a thin layer of zinc

Alloy

A homogeneous mixture of two or more metals or a metal and a non-metal

Amalgam

An alloy in which one of the constituent metals is Mercury