The World of Metals and Non-metals
Non-metals in everyday life
Learn about non-metals and how we use them in everyday life.
Sulfur and phosphorus behave differently from metals with air and water. Phosphorus catches fire in air, so it is stored under water.
Such substances are non-metals. They are usually soft and dull; not malleable, not ductile, not sonorous; poor conductors of heat and electricity; and their oxides are acidic. Other non-metals are oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon.
Don't mix them up with plastic, glass, wood, rubber and paper. Those are not metals or non-metals at all, because they are not elements. An element is a substance that cannot be broken down into anything simpler. 118 elements are known so far. They are the building blocks of all matter; some are found in nature and some have only been made in laboratories.
Non-metals are all around us:
| Non-metal | Use |
|---|---|
| oxygen | we breathe it; we could not survive without it |
| carbon | the building block of all life; in proteins, fats and carbohydrates |
| nitrogen | making fertilisers; plants need it to grow |
| chlorine | cleaning water, for example in swimming pools |
| iodine | its solution is put on cuts and wounds as an antiseptic |
Metals and alloys (mixtures of two or more metals, or a metal and a non-metal, like steel) give us utensils, tools and modern machines. Special metals are used in atomic energy (zirconium) and aircraft (titanium). In India, a lot of iron and aluminium is recycled, to cut waste.
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