- Home
- Standard 10
- Science
Differentiate between metal and non-metal on the basis of their chemical properties.
Solution
| Metal | Non-metal |
| Metals are electropositive. | Non-metals are electronegative. |
|
They react with oxygen to form basic oxides. $4 Na + O _{2} \longrightarrow 2 Na _{2} O$ These have ionic bonds. |
They react with oxygen to form acidic or neutral oxides. $C + O _{2} \longrightarrow CO _{2}$ These have covalent bonds. |
|
They react with water to form oxides and hydroxides. Some metals react with cold water, some with hot water, and some with steam. $2 Na +2 H _{2} O \longrightarrow 2 NaOH + H _{2} \uparrow$ |
They do not react with water. |
|
They react with dilute acids to form a salt and evolve hydrogen gas. However, $Cu ,\, Ag ,\, Au , \,Pt ,\,Hg$ do not react. $2 Na +2 HCl \longrightarrow 2 NaCl + H _{2} \uparrow$ |
They do not react with dilute acids. These are not capable of replacing hydrogen. |
|
They react with the salt solution of metals. Depending on their reactivity, displacement reaction can occur. $CuSO _{4}+ Zn \longrightarrow ZnSO _{4}+ Cu$ |
These react with the salt solution of non-metals. |
|
They act as reducing agents (as they can easily lose electrons). $Na \longrightarrow Na ^{+}+ e ^{-}$ |
These act as oxidising agents (as they can gain electrons). $Cl _{2}+2 e ^{-} \longrightarrow 2 Cl ^{-}$ |
Similar Questions
Samples of four metals $A$, $B$, $C$ and $D$ were taken and added to the following solution one by one. The results obtained have been tabulated as follows.
| Metal | Iron $(II)$ sulphate | Cooper $(II)$ sulphate | zinc sulphate | Silver nitrate |
| $A.$ | No reaction | Displacement | ||
| $B.$ | Displacement | No reaction | ||
| $C.$ | No reaction | No reaction | No reaction | Displacement |
| $D.$ | No reaction | No reaction | No reaction | No reaction |
Use the Table above to answer the following questions about metals $A$, $B$, $C$ and $D$.
$(i)$ Which is the most reactive metal ?
$(ii)$ What would you observe if $B$ is added to a solution of Copper $(II)$ sulphate ?
$(iii)$ Arrange the metals $A$, $B$, $C$ and $D$ in the order of decreasing reactivity.
