Metals and Non-metals Sort
Most elements are metals. Metals are usually shiny, they let electricity and heat pass through them, and they can be bent or hammered into shape. Non-metals are often gases, or dull and brittle solids, and most do not carry electricity. A few elements, called metalloids, are a bit of both.
Write each element from the box into the right column. Use the periodic table in the lab to help you. Then answer the questions at the bottom.
Name: Date:
Word bank
Iron (Fe) · Oxygen (O) · Copper (Cu) · Sulfur (S) · Sodium (Na) · Helium (He) · Aluminium (Al) · Carbon (C) · Silicon (Si) · Gold (Au) · Chlorine (Cl) · Magnesium (Mg) · Nitrogen (N) · Boron (B) · Zinc (Zn) · Neon (Ne)
Sort them
Metals
Non-metals
Metalloids
Questions
Name one property that most metals share.
Which side of the periodic table are most non-metals on?
Which two elements on this sheet are metalloids?
Notes for parents and teachers
On the periodic table, metals are on the left and in the middle, non-metals are on the right, and the metalloids form a staircase between them. Boron and silicon are the two metalloids on this sheet. Hydrogen is left out on purpose, because it sits on the left of the table but is a non-metal, which confuses many children.
A good discussion question is why mercury is a metal even though it is a liquid, or why carbon is a non-metal even though graphite carries electricity. These show that scientists group elements by several properties at once, not just one. The lab colours each family differently, so children can check their answers by looking at the tile colours.