8Ga Metal Properties

• Metals


  • Have common physical properties that differ from non-metals
  • Their properties make them useful in many ways
  • Different metals can have the same uses since they all have some common properties
• Decision to use one metal rather than another


  Depends on various factors, including cost, appearance, and precise properties
• Uses of metals


  • Iron for building frames because they are strong and relatively cheap
  • Copper for water pipes because they are unreactive, non-poisonous, and malleable
  • Aluminum for window frames because they are strong and light
  • Copper for electrical circuits because it is a good conductor of electricity and is unreactive
• Metals


  • Most react with oxygen
  • They also react with halogens
  • When they react, they often form a single solid compound
• Catalysts


  Substances that change the speed of a reaction without being permanently changed themselves
• Metal catalysts


  • Platinum in gas hair curlers to speed up the reaction that releases heat
  • Platinum, palladium, and rhodium in catalytic converters in cars
• Only tiny amounts of catalyst are needed and, as they are unreactive and unchanged by the reaction, they can be recovered and used again