Four Families of Elements
Sort elements into metals, non-metals, metalloids and noble gases.
What this lesson covers
Why it matters
Some elements are shiny and bend like a spoon; others are dull and crumble like charcoal. A few sit right in between. Elements come in families with shared personalities!
Predict first
You find a shiny solid that can be hammered into thin sheets and conducts electricity. Which family does it belong to?
Shiny (lustrous), malleable (can be hammered into sheets) and a good conductor — these are the classic properties of metals like iron and copper.
- Non-metal
- Metal — correct
- Noble gas
- Metalloid
What you do
Drag each element into its correct family based on its properties.
Check yourself
Why are elements like silicon and boron called metalloids?
Metalloids sit between metals and non-metals. For example, silicon looks shiny like a metal but is brittle and conducts only a little, like a non-metal — so it shows properties of both.
Helium, neon and argon rarely take part in chemical reactions. What is this family called?
The noble gases are famous for being unreactive (inert). Their atoms are stable on their own, so they rarely combine with other elements.
Which set of properties best describes a non-metal like sulphur?
Most non-metals are dull, brittle (they break when hammered instead of bending) and do not conduct electricity well. Sulphur, a yellow brittle solid, fits this perfectly.
- They show some properties of metals and some of non-metals — correct
- They are a mixture of a metal and a non-metal
- They are metals that have rusted
- They are always liquids at room temperature
- Noble gases — correct
- Metals
- Metalloids
- Compounds
- Dull, brittle and a poor conductor of electricity — correct
- Shiny, malleable and a good conductor
- Always a gas that glows in tubes
- Magnetic and silvery