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← The World of Metals and Non-metals

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Lesson 13 of 14

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Fourteen quick questions. Use the table if you get stuck.

Metals and non-metals — the ten rules the labs used
LessonThe rule
Shine and soundShine and ringing are two tests. One pass is not enough.
Beaten and drawnMost metals spread under a blow and draw into wire. A brittle lump shatters.
Warmth and the loopMetals carry warmth and the loop well. Graphite carries the loop too.
Non-metals around usEach substance melts and boils at its own points. State and metal-or-not are separate.
RustingRust needs air and water together. Take either away and iron stays bright.
ChoosingStart with the job. The right material passes both properties the job needs.
OxidesA metal's oxide is usually basic. A non-metal's oxide is usually acidic. Litmus in water can show which, if the oxide dissolves.
Kept awayKeep a substance away from what it reacts with. Sodium reacts with air and water, so it is kept in kerosene. White phosphorus can catch fire in air, so water covers it.
JewelleryA jewellery metal shines and shapes easily. It keeps its shine in air and water. Of iron, copper, silver and gold, gold does this best.
Non-metal jobsNon-metals do vital jobs. Chlorine cleans water. Iodine is an antiseptic for wounds. Nitrogen is in fertilisers. Oxygen is for breathing. Carbon is in all living things.

A glass marble shines brightly in the Sun. What does that prove?

  • It is a metal
  • Nothing — a smooth clean surface throws back light either way
  • It will ring if struck

A shopkeeper strikes a steel plate. It rings on. Which test is that?

  • Sonorous — a solid metal rings on
  • Lustre — a metal shines
  • Ductile — a metal draws into wire

The same hammer flattens copper but shatters a lump of coal. Why?

  • The hammer hits the coal harder
  • Coal is brittle, so it breaks. Copper is malleable, so it spreads
  • Copper is too soft to feel the blow

Which of these can be pulled into a long thin wire?

  • The copper inside a phone charger
  • The plastic sleeve around that copper
  • The glass in a bangle

A wooden spoon and a steel spoon sit in hot milk. Which handle stays cool?

  • The wooden one — wood lets very little warmth through
  • Both — a handle is always far from heat
  • The steel one — metal keeps warmth in the middle

A pencil's grey core lights a tester's bulb. What follows?

  • Graphite is a metal after all
  • A non-metal can carry the loop too
  • The tester must be broken

Which of these is a metal that is liquid at room temperature?

  • Sulfur
  • Mercury
  • Iron

A nail sits in a sealed dry tin for a month. What happens?

  • It stays bright — there is no water
  • It rusts slowly — there is air
  • It rusts fast — tins trap damp

A student scrubs the orange off a rusted chain. What is left underneath?

  • The original bright surface
  • Thinner iron, because the orange came out of the chain itself
  • A fresh layer that never rusts again

A pencil core and a copper wire both carry the loop. Which extra property lets copper make a lamp's flex?

  • Copper draws into thin wire
  • Copper is a non-metal
  • Copper does not shine

Magnesium oxide is mixed with water. What does red litmus do?

  • It turns blue
  • It turns darker red
  • It does not change

Why is sodium kept under kerosene?

  • Kerosene makes sodium shine
  • Kerosene keeps sodium cold
  • Kerosene keeps air and water away from it

Which of these three metals suits a bangle that must stay bright?

  • Iron
  • Copper
  • Gold

Which non-metal goes into fertilisers?

  • Nitrogen
  • Chlorine
  • Iodine

Now open Chapter 4 in your NCERT book. Try its questions.

Next: Changes Around Us: Physical and Chemical. A rusted nail does not turn back into bright iron by itself. That chapter asks which changes can be undone.

Reveal every answer to finish this lesson.