Metals (unit 3a)

• Metals are good conductors of heat and electricity. Metals are able to conduct electricity in both the solid and liquid states.
• Metals have high melting and boiling points. All the metals are solids except mercury, which is liquid at room temperature.
• Metals are strong and dense, but they are also malleable (can be hammered into shape) and ductile (can be drawn into wires).
• Metallic bonding: Metallic bonds occur between the atoms of metal elements. The outer electrons are delocalised (free to move). This produces an electrostatic force of attraction between the positive metal ions (atoms that have lost an electron to become positively charged) and the negative delocalised electrons, which acts as a glue holding the atoms together.