Metals and non metals

• Metals and non-metals have different physical and chemical properties
• Metals can be distinguished from non-metals based on their physical and chemical properties
• Physical properties of metals and non-metals include lustre and hardness
• Metals like iron, copper, aluminium, calcium, and magnesium are examples of metals
• Non-metals like sulphur, carbon, oxygen, and phosphorus are examples of non-metals
• Metals are good conductors of heat and electricity
• Materials like coal and sulphur are soft, dull, and poor conductors of heat and electricity, making them non-metals
• Metals produce a ringing sound when struck hard, making them sonorous
• Metals can be beaten into thin sheets, a property known as malleability
• Metals can be drawn into wires, a property known as ductility
• Metals generally possess properties like hardness, lustre, malleability, ductility, sonorousness, and good conductivity of heat and electricity
• Non-metals like coal and sulphur are soft, dull, and poor conductors of heat and electricity
• Metals react with oxygen to form oxides
• Metals like sodium and potassium are exceptions as they are soft and can be cut with a knife
• Mercury is the only metal found in a liquid state at room temperature
• Metallic oxides are generally basic in nature
• Non-metals react with oxygen as well
• When a copper vessel is exposed to moist air for a long time, it acquires a dull green coating consisting of copper hydroxide (Cu(OH)2) and copper carbonate (CuCO3)
• The green material formed on the copper vessel is a mixture of copper hydroxide and copper carbonate
• The reaction when copper reacts with moist air to form copper hydroxide and copper carbonate is: 2Cu + H2O + CO2 + O2 → Cu(OH)2 + CuCO3
• Sulphur dioxide gas is formed in the reaction of sulphur and oxygen. When sulphur dioxide dissolves in water, it forms sulphurous acid (H2SO3)
• Sulphurous acid turns blue litmus paper red. Generally, oxides of non-metals are acidic in nature
• Metals and non-metals react differently with water. For example, sodium reacts vigorously with water, while iron reacts with water slowly
• Non-metals generally do not react with water, although they may be very reactive in air. Non-metals like phosphorus are stored in water to prevent contact with atmospheric oxygen
• Metals react with acids to produce hydrogen gas that burns with a 'pop' sound. Copper does not react with dilute hydrochloric acid but reacts with sulphuric acid
• Metals react with sodium hydroxide to produce hydrogen gas. The 'pop' sound indicates the presence of hydrogen gas
• In displacement reactions, a more reactive metal can replace a less reactive metal, following definite rules based on reactivity
• Uses of metals include making machinery, automobiles, aeroplanes, trains, satellites, industrial gadgets, cooking utensils, and water boilers
• Uses of non-metals include being essential for breathing, used in fertilisers, water purification, antiseptics, and in crackers
• In beaker 'A', zinc (Zn) replaces copper (Cu) from copper sulphate (CuSO4), resulting in the disappearance of the blue color of copper sulphate and the deposition of a powdery red mass of copper at the bottom of the beaker
• The reaction in beaker 'A' can be represented as:

  Copper Sulphate (CuSO4) + Zinc (Zn) → Zinc Sulphate (ZnSO4) + Copper (Cu)
• In beaker 'C', copper is not able to replace zinc from zinc sulphate, indicating that copper cannot replace zinc in this reaction
• The inability of copper to replace zinc in beaker 'C' is due to the fact that more reactive metals can displace less reactive metals from their compounds in aqueous solutions