List of metals with their Atomic numbers and Properties

Metals are a set of elements with distinct characters.

The periodic table has a total of 118 elements, and of them, 91 of them are metals.

These metals can be categorized as

  • Alkali metals
  • Alkaline earth metals and
  • Transition metals (including lanthanides and actinides).

So, let us see the list of metals in the above categories.

Alkali Metals

Sl.NoMetal nameAtomic numberProperties
1Lithium3Highly reactive
2Sodium11Major electrolyte
3Potassium19An Electrolyte and essential for plant growth
4Rubidium37
5Cesium55
6Francium87

The alkali metals are in group IA. They are positioned on the far left side of the periodic table.

They are highly reactive elements because of their +1 oxidation state.

Thus, they quickly lose an electron forming an octet in its outer shell (completely filled) and forming compounds.

Examples of Metals

These elements are rarely found in isolated forms in nature due to their highly reactive property.

They predominantly form basic oxides and hydroxides and are hence called alkali metals. They have very low ionization enthalpy (amount of energy needed to lose an electron), so they are very reactive.

These elements, with their atomic numbers, are

Alkaline Earth Metals

The alkaline earth metals are arranged in group IIA of the periodic table. This is the second column of the periodic table after the alkali metal group.

The atoms of all the alkaline earth metals have a +2 oxidation state. They are also quite reactive, like alkali metals, as they can easily lose two electrons to form compounds.

Thus, these elements are found mostly in a compound rather than pure substance form. These alkaline earth metals are quite reactive but are still less than the alkali metals.

They have low ionization energy but more than alkali metals, so they are reactive.

Metal NameAtomic numberProperties
Beryllium4Used in nuclear research
Magnesium12An important element in chlorophyll
Calcium20The main component of bones
Strontium38
Barium56
Radium88This is a radioactive element

Basic Metals

The basic metals are those elements that display the characteristics generally associated with the term “metal.”

They are spread over multiple columns/groups. They can conduct heat and electricity.

They also possess a metallic luster and are ductile and malleable. However, these elements also display some nonmetallic characteristics.

While most metals are hard, lead and gallium are soft.

These elements generally have lower melting and boiling points than the transition metals (with some exceptions).

Metal NameAtomic numberProperties
Aluminum13lightweight metal.
Gallium31
Indium49
Tin50
Thallium81
Lead82Poor conductor of electricity and heat.
Bismuth83
Nihonium113
Flerovium114
Moscovium115
Livermorium116
Tennessine117Synthetic, metalloid in the halogen group

Transition Metals

The transition metals are characterized by having partially filled ‘D’ or ‘F’ electron subshells. Since the shell is incompletely filled and there is very little energy difference between the subshells, the electrons can jump from one subshell to another. Thus they can display multiple oxidation states. Due to their vacant orbitals, they form coordination bonds and often produce colored complexes.

The ‘D’ block metals are:

Metal NameAtomic numberProperties
Scandium21
Titanium22used to make airframes as it is light and can withstand extreme temperatures.
Vanadium23
Chromium24used in electroplating
Manganese25used to make dry-cell batteries
Iron26It is present in the Red blood cells and is used to make many items of daily use.
Cobalt27
Nickel28
Copper29make alloys
Zinc30For galvanizing iron
Yttrium39
Zirconium40
Niobium41
Molybdenum42
Technetium43
Ruthenium44
Rhodium45
Palladium46
Silver47Finest conductor of electricity.
Cadmium48

List of ‘F’ block metals

Metal NameAtomic NumberComment
Lanthanum57lanthanides start from this element
Hafnium72
Tantalum73
Tungsten74
Rhenium75
Osmium76
Iridium77
Platinum78most inert metal
Gold79
Mercury80
Actinium89Actinides start from this element
Rutherfordium104
Dubnium105
Seaborgium106
Bohrium107
Hassium108
Meitnerium109
Darmstadtium110
Roentgenium111
Copernicium112

The lanthanides and actinides are kept separately at the bottom of the periodic table in the first block so as not to disturb the structure of the table.

They display more complex chemical and physical characteristics as they have energetically similar orbitals, so the electrons jump easily within orbitals.

The orbitals are also far away from the nucleus, so electrons are less attracted and this influences their reactivity.

The lanthanides (atomic number 58 to 71) are

Metal NameAtomic numberAny comment
Cerium58
Praseodymium59
Neodymium60
Promethium61
Samarium62
Europium63
Gadolinium64
Terbium65
Dysprosium66
Holmium67
Erbium68
Thulium69
Ytterbium70
Lutetium71

The actinides (atomic number 90 to 103) are

Metal nameAtomic numberComment
Thorium90Naturally occurring, radioactive metal
Protactinium91
Uranium92
Neptunium93
Plutonium94
Americium95
Curium96
Berkelium 97
Californium98
Einsteinium99
Fermium100
Mendelevium101
Nobelium102
Lawrencium103

References:

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