Chemistry - Bonding - Metallic Bonding

• What does a solid metal consist of

  A giant structure of atoms arranged in a regular pattern
• What happens when all the atoms are together in a metal

  Give up outer shell electrons, sharing them with other atoms in the metal, forming positive ions as they've lost negative electrons (delocalised electrons)
• What do the delocalised electrons do


  Create strong forces of electrostatic attraction between the positive ions and negative electrons which holds everything together
• List the characteristics of metals

  • Strong
  • High melting / boiling points
  • Conduct electricity/ heat (delocalised electrons carry electrical current / thermal energy around structure)
  • Malleable
• Why are metals malleable 


  Layers are in a regular structure so they can slide over eachother
• What's an alloy


  A metal containing two or more different elements
• How are alloys made 


  • Mixing together two different metals
  • Mixing together a metal and a non - metal
• Why are different sized atoms used in alloys


  Disrupts the regular structure meaning layers can't slide over eachother making it harder than pure metal