Nonmetal facts for kids

Fluorite, a source of fluorine, in the form of an isolated crystal

Nonmetals are a special group of elements that are very different from metals. Unlike shiny, bendy metals, nonmetals are often dull, brittle, and don't conduct electricity or heat very well. They can be found in all three states of matter: gases, liquids, and solids.

For example, sulfur is a solid nonmetal that is yellow and not shiny at all. Bromine is a red liquid nonmetal. Many nonmetals are gases, like oxygen and nitrogen, which are in the air we breathe. Nonmetals are also great insulators, meaning they stop heat and electricity from passing through them easily. This is why they are used in things like electrical wiring insulation.

Where are Nonmetals Found?

Even though there are fewer nonmetals than metals on the periodic table, they are incredibly important and common in the Universe. Two nonmetals, hydrogen and helium, make up more than 99% of everything we can see in space!

On Earth, oxygen is a nonmetal that makes up almost half of the Earth's crust, our oceans, and the atmosphere. This shows how vital nonmetals are to our planet.

Nonmetals and Life

Did you know that living things, like you and me, are made almost entirely of nonmetals? Elements like carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen are the building blocks of all life. Nonmetals also combine to form many more compounds than metals do. This means they are involved in countless chemical reactions that make life possible.

Images for kids

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  Periodic table highlighting the first row of each block. Helium (He), as a noble gas, is normally shown over neon (Ne) with the rest of the noble gases. The elements within scope of this article are inside the thick black borders. The status of oganesson (Og, element 118) is not yet known.

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  Electronegativity values of the group 16 chalcogen elements showing a W-shaped alternation or secondary periodicity going down the group

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  A small (about 2 cm long) piece of rapidly melting argon ice

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  Selenium conducts electricity around 1,000 times better when light falls on it, a property used in light-sensing applications.

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  A crystal of realgar, also known as "ruby sulphur" or "ruby of arsenic", an arsenic sulfide mineral As4S4

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  Brownish crystals of buckminsterfullerene С60, a semiconducting allotrope of carbon

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  The Alchemist Discovering Phosphorus (1771) by Joseph Wright. The alchemist is Hennig Brand; the glow emanates from the combustion of phosphorus inside the flask.

See also

In Spanish: No metal para niños