Properties and Uses of Metals

Properties and Uses of Metals

1. Regularly arranged layers of ions in a sea of delocalised electrons

   • Allows for conductivity of heat and electricity
     • Delocalised electrons absorb heat or electricity and can travel freely throughout the metal

2. Tough, ductile, malleable, not brittle, shiny, lustrous

3. High melting and boiling points

   • Metallic bonds are very strong, need a lot of energy to break them
     • Metallic bonds are the attraction between the metal ions and the delocalised electrons, are very strong

4. Very dense, lots of weight in a relatively small piece of metal

   • Ions are packed closely together

5. Saucepans, need to be thermally conductive to heat food

6. Bridges, very strong, especially as alloys

7. Alloys

   • Other elements are mixed with the metal when it is molten
     • Different sized particles mix and mess up the regular layers of metal ions, stop the layers from sliding over each other

8. Gold is used for jewellery due to its inherent shine make it attractive to the human eye and its being malleable and ductile make it easy to shape

9. Copper is used for water pipes due to its unreactivity with water

   • Also used as electrical wires because it is relatively cheap and a good conductor