Revision Notes
Class 8 Science
Chapter 4 – Materials: Metals and Non-Metals
Introduction
● All the things around us are made up of materials which are either
metals or non-metals.
● The metals are those materials that are strong and possess certain
characteristic properties which make it suitable for use in almost
everything. Some examples are iron, copper, zinc etc.
● They can be found in household articles, vehicles, machines, buildings,
utensils etc.
● Non-metals are those materials that don’t possess these characteristic
properties. Some examples of it are sulphur, carbon, oxygen etc.
Physical properties of metals
● The metals have a property that allows them to be beaten into thin
sheets. This property is termed as malleability. This allows a material
to change its shape and be made into thin sheets like the silver foil or
aluminium foil.
● The metals also have a property that allows them to be drawn into wires
and this property is termed as ductility. It is this property that allows
metals like copper to be drawn into wires.
● The metals are very good conductors of heat and thus they are used
for making cooking utensils, irons, heaters, etc.
● The metals are also good conductors of electricity due to which
metals like copper and aluminium are used for making electric wires
and cables.
● The metals have a unique property to make a ringing sound when they
are struck hard. This is termed as being sonorous. It is due to this
property that you hear a sound when you hit a metal surface.
● Some of the metals have a shiny or lustrous appearance like gold,
silver.
Chemical properties of metals
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● The metals react with oxygen and they produce metal oxides that are
basic in nature. We can see that a red litmus paper introduced into a
solution of rust, [which is basically a metal, iron], turns blue indicating
the formation of a basic metal oxide.
● Some of the metals react strongly with water like sodium due to which
it is kept in kerosene and some react very slowly like iron. In general,
the metals react with water to form metal hydroxides and hydrogen
gas.
● The metals react with acids to form metal salts and hydrogen gas. If
a burning matchstick is brought near the mouth a test tube containing
magnesium ribbon and dilute hydrochloric acid, you hear a pop sound
due to the burning of hydrogen gas, which is formed in the reaction.
● Some of the metals like aluminium and zinc react with bases like
sodium hydroxide to produce metal salts and hydrogen gas which
burns with a pop sound.
● The metals have a tendency to displace more reactive metals from
the less reactive metals in their compounds in their aqueous
solutions. We can see that the blue colour of an aqueous solution of
copper sulphate and zinc disappears and a red deposit is seen at the
bottom. This is because zinc being more reactive than copper replaces
it and forms zinc sulphate and the red copper is released.
Uses of metals
● Metals are used in the manufacture of equipment, machines,
aeroplanes, automobiles, nails etc. because of their strength and
durability.
● The metals like gold, silver are used for making jewellery due to its
lustrous properties.
● Metals like copper and aluminium are used to make wires due to
ductile property and them being good conductors of electricity.
● Metal like mercury finds its use in the thermometers.
● Metals like nickel, chromium are used in the electroplating and steel
industry.
● Metal like lead is used to manufacture batteries.
● Metals like aluminium are used as packaging material as it can be
rolled into sheets.
Physical properties of non-metals
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● The non-metals are non-malleable as they are brittle and break into a
powder when they are beaten. Like sulphur turns into a powdery mass.
● The non-metals are also not ductile as they can’t be drawn into wires,
except for carbon. Carbon fibres are used in sports and music
equipment.
● The non-metals are bad conductors of heat and electricity with the
exception of graphite, which is the only non-metal to conduct heat and
electricity.
● The non-metals are not sonorous and do not produce any sound on
being struck. A wooden box does not make a ringing sound when
struck.
● The non-metals are non-lustrous, that is they are soft and dull in their
appearance like charcoal.
Chemical properties of non-metals
● The non-metals generally react with oxygen and produce non-
metallic oxides which are in turn acidic. We can see that sulphur
reacts with oxygen to produce sulphur dioxide gas. And if this is
dissolved in water, it will lead to the formation of sulphurous acid
which will turn blue litmus paper to red, indicating its acidic nature.
● The non-metals generally do not react with water though they may be
highly reactive in air. Like phosphorus which is stored in water as it is
highly reactive when exposed to the oxygen in the air.
● The non-metals generally do react with any of the acids.
Uses of non-metals
● One of the most important non-metal, oxygen is essential for our
survival and similarly carbon for the plants.
● Non-metals like nitrogen, phosphorus are used widely in fertilizers.
● Non-metal like liquid hydrogen is used to propel rockets.
● The non-metal graphite is quite indispensable in the pencils.
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