Name: ______

Unit 2: Is it a Metal?

BIG Questions: Why do some substances react the same and some react differently?

Question of the Day: What properties do metals have in common?

Goal of the Day: Organize and classify the elements based on physical properties.

Pre-lab:

  1. What is an element? Provide an example.
  1. What are physical properties? Provide two examples.
  1. List four metals that you can think of.
  1. What physical properties do metals have in common?
  1. Notes on Miss Knierim’s demo:
  • Malleability:
  • Luster:
  • Ductility:
  • Electrical Conductivity:

Procedure Part 1:

1. Fold a piece of white paper into four squares.

2. Label the squares:

Aluminum

Magnesium

Silicon

Sulfur

3. Wear safety goggles.

4. Obtain a piece of each sample and place it on the appropriate square.

5. Observe and record the color of each element. Some samples may be a bright silver, while another might be a dark gray. Be specific pretty please with T-Rex sprinkles on top 

7. Observe and record the luster of each element in the data table. Is it dull, shiny, slightly shiny, slightly dull?

8. Record any other physical characteristics that you observe.

  • What form is the sample in (flaky, rough, smooth, flat, rocky, in strips?)
  • Do any of the samples have an odor?

9. Test the conductivity of each sample.

  • Touch both electrodes to the element being tested, being sure the wires are not touching each other.
  • If the bulb lights brightly, the sample is a strong electrical conductor. If the bulb lights dimly, the sample is a weak conductor. If the bulb does not light, the sample is a nonconductor. Record your results.

10. Determine the malleability of each sample.

  • Position the nail head on the sample and with the piece of wood, gently tap the nail.
  • If the sample shatters or breaks into smaller pieces, it is brittle. If the sample does not break or if it flattens or bends without breaking, the sample is malleable.

STUDENT DATA TABLE

Sample / Color / Luster / Other physical properties / Conductivity
(strong, weak, or nonconductor) / Malleability
(Malleable or brittle)
Aluminum
Magnesium
Silicon
Sulfur

Procedure Part 2:

  1. Obtain a set of Metal Fact Cards.
  2. Is melting point and boiling point a physical intensive property or a physical extensive property?
  1. Is thermal conductivity a physical intensive property or a physical extensive property?
  1. Read the descriptions and analyze the data tables included. Use these cards to determine what properties a metal might have. List as many as you can below.
  1. Examine your data table from Part 1.
  1. Which of the properties above are found in your samples?
  1. Which sample(s) would you classify as a metal? Justify your answer.
  1. What properties would indicate a nonmetal?
  1. Which sample(s) would you classify as nonmetals? Justify your answer.
  1. Semimetals or metalloids share properties of both metals and nonmetals. Which of your samples would you classify as a semi-metal or metalloid? Explain your answer.
  1. What claim can you make describing how the properties of these elements can help classify them as metals, non-metals and semi-metals (metalloids)? Justify your response.
  1. Return the Metal Fact Cards to your teacher and pick up a Student Set of Eight cards. Using the properties and characteristics we have been discussing, order the cards from most metallic to least metallic. Justify your answer.
  1. Color the periodic table, with each category listed below in a different color:
  • Metals
  • Nonmetals
  • semi-metals
  • metalloids.