Beaten into sheets
Malleability.
Under the hammer
A lump of metal is beaten again and again with a hammer, in a workshop.
What can happen to a piece of metal that is beaten?
What this lesson covers
The idea
The property by which metals can be beaten into thin sheets is malleability; gold and silver are the most malleable metals.
Under the hammer
A lump of metal is beaten again and again with a hammer, in a workshop.
What can happen to a piece of metal that is beaten?
- It can spread into a thin sheet
- It breaks into powder
- It turns into a gas
Beat the metal
Press Next step to follow the lump.
Spreading, not breaking
Some metals do not crumble when they are beaten. They spread out into thin sheets. This property is called malleability. Gold and silver are the most malleable metals.
The property by which metals can be beaten into thin sheets is malleability; gold and silver are the most malleable metals.
Notes
Malleability: metals can be beaten into thin sheets; gold and silver are the most malleable.
Check yourself
The property of being beaten into thin sheets is called ...
Which two metals are the most malleable?
A metal is beaten into a thin sheet. Which property made this possible?
Why can metals be given different shapes according to our needs?
- ductility. Ductility is the ability to be drawn into thin wires.
- malleability — correct. Yes!
- sonorous. Sonorous means producing a sound on striking a hard surface.
- Lead and mercury. The book names lead and mercury as comparatively poor conductors of heat, not as the most malleable metals.
- Silver and copper. Silver and copper are the best conductors of heat; the most malleable metals are gold and silver.
- Gold and silver — correct. Yes!
- Malleability — correct. Yes!
- Metallic lustre. Lustre is the shining surface of a metal; it does not make a metal spread into a sheet.
- Ductility. Ductility is about drawing a metal into a wire, not beating it into a sheet.
- They are all sonorous. Being sonorous means producing a sound on striking a hard surface; it does not help in shaping.
- They are malleable and ductile — correct. Yes!
- They have a shining surface. Lustre is only the shining surface; shaping depends on malleability and ductility.