Classifying Elements

Hey everyone! Today in class we worked on the Metal, Nonmetal, Metalloid Lab. In this lab, we worked to classify eight elements, based on their physical and chemical properties, as metals, nonmetals, or metalloids. These eight elements included: Aluminum, Carbon, Iron, Magnesium, Silicon, Sulfur, Tin, and Zinc. We classified them based on the physical properties of appearance, luster, malleability/brittleness, and electrical conductivity. We also tested the chemical properties using hdrochloric acid and a copper chloride solution in test tubes. Everyone had to be careful with the Copper Chloride because it is corrosive to the skin and eyes.
For physical properties, we looked at the appearance of the different elements. Al was spherical and silver. C was Black and powdery. Fe was strong and silver. Mg had ridges and was silver. Si was powdery, silver and strong. S was yellow and powdery. Sn was clumpy and silver. Zn was flat, grey, and smooth. For luster, Al, Fe, Mg, Si, and Sn are all shiny. C, S, and Zn were all dull. C, Si, and S were brittle.
The rest were malleable. Al, Fe, Mg, and Sn were conductive to electricity. C and Mg reacted with the HCl by creating bubbles. Al, C, Mg, Sn, and Zn all reacted with the Copper Chloride by having a corrosive effect on the element and by creating bubbles. They were claasified, using this information, for metals if they had luster, malleability, and conductive to elecricity. Many metals also react with acids and Copper Chloride solution. Nonmetals are dull, brittle, and do not conduct electricity. Most nonmetals do not react with acids and Copper Chloride solution. Elements that have at least two properties of both are considered metalloids. The rest is in the post-lab! Oh, and thank you John for helping me with the pictures. The next scribe is........Kaitlin S.!