Properties of Metals

All metals are solid at room temperature, with the exception of mercury (which is a liquid).
Metals have high melting and boiling points, with notable variations depending on the specific metal.
They are conductors of heat and electricity, meaning heat and electrical charges move easily through them.
Metals are malleable (can be hammered into shape) and ductile (can be drawn into a wire).
They have a lustrous appearance and are capable of being polished to a shine.
Metals are denser compared to other elements and compounds, but there are exceptions like lithium, potassium, and sodium, which are less dense than water.
Metals generally have high tensile strength, meaning they can withstand significant stretching before breaking.

When metals react with oxygen, they tend to form metal oxides in a corrosion process.
Most metals react with acids to produce a salt and hydrogen gas.
Metals tend to lose electrons in chemical reactions, this ability to donate electrons makes them good reducing agents.
Metals lower in the reactivity series do not react with water, while metals higher in the series will react to form metal hydroxides and release hydrogen gas.
Displacement reactions occur between a metal and the ions of a solution of a different metal. The more reactive metal will displace the less reactive metal from its solution.

The reactivity series ranks metals based on their reactivity where the most reactive metals are at the top and the least at the bottom.
Potassium, sodium, lithium, and calcium are highly reactive and vigorously react with water and acids.
Metals like zinc, iron, and tin are moderately reactive.
Copper, silver, gold, and platinum are examples of low reactivity metals and they do not react with water or steam.
Knowledge of the reactivity series is crucial for understanding and predicting the products of displacement reactions.

The method used to extract a metal from its ore depends upon the reactivity of the metal. It can involve electrolysis, reduction using carbon, or biological methods.
Low reactivity metals like gold and silver are often found in their pure form in nature and do not require extraction methods.
High reactivity metals like aluminium and sodium must be extracted using electrolysis.
Metals of medium reactivity, like iron, are often extracted through reduction with carbon.