Which term describes a shiny solid at room temperature that conducts heat and electricity?

Which term describes a shiny solid at room temperature that conducts heat and electricity?

• A. Metal
• B. Non metal
• C. Metalloid
• D. Ionic bond

Answer: (A)

Metals have a shiny surface and conduct both heat and electricity because of metallic bonding, where electrons move freely as a “sea” around a lattice of positive ions. This electron mobility makes metals very good at conducting heat and electricity and gives them their characteristic lustre. They’re also typically solid at room temperature (with a few exceptions like mercury), which matches the description. Nonmetals are usually dull and poor conductors, metalloids show mixed properties, and ionic bonds refer to a type of bonding rather than a material’s general properties—and ionic compounds are often brittle insulators as solids. So the term that fits all these clues is metal.

Metals have a shiny surface and conduct both heat and electricity because of metallic bonding, where electrons move freely as a “sea” around a lattice of positive ions. This electron mobility makes metals very good at conducting heat and electricity and gives them their characteristic lustre. They’re also typically solid at room temperature (with a few exceptions like mercury), which matches the description. Nonmetals are usually dull and poor conductors, metalloids show mixed properties, and ionic bonds refer to a type of bonding rather than a material’s general properties—and ionic compounds are often brittle insulators as solids. So the term that fits all these clues is metal.