Name any Two Soft Metals?
The two soft metals are sodium and potassium.
Soft metals are metals that can be dented, worked, or cut without shattering. The softness of sodium metal allows it to be sliced with a knife. Potassium is a soft metal as well. These metals have very weak cohesive interactions between their atoms. As a result, the metals have a supple texture
The strong cohesive forces between the atoms determine a metal’s hardness. These metals have very weak cohesive interactions between their atoms. The bonding in these metals is weak, and electrons are distributed throughout a number of atoms rather than a single one. Metal softens as a result of weak bonding.
Sodium
sodium (Na) is a chemical element in the periodic table’s alkali metal group (Group 1 [Ia]). Sodium is a silvery-white soft metal. Sodium is the most common alkali metal and the world’s sixth most plentiful element, accounting for 2.8 percent of the planet’s crust. It is plentiful in nature in the form of compounds, particularly common salt (NaCl), which forms the mineral halite and accounts for around 80% of the dissolved ingredients in seawater.
Element Properties | |
Atomic Number | 11 |
Atomic Weight | 22.9898 |
Melting Point | 97.81 °C (208 °F) |
Boiling Point | 882.9 °C (1,621 °F) |
Specific Gravity | 0.971 (20 °C) |
Oxidation States | +1, −1 (rare) |
Electron Configuration | 2-8-1 or 1s22s22p63s1 |
Potassium
Potassium (K) is a chemical element in the alkali metal group of the periodic table, belonging to Group 1 (Ia). It is essential for both plant and animal life. Sir Humphry Davy, an English chemist, was the first to isolate a metal by electrolysis, when he did it in 1807 by decomposing molten potassium hydroxide (KOH) using a voltaic battery.
Element Properties | |
Atomic Number | 19 |
Atomic Weight | 39.098 |
Melting Point | 63.28 °C (145.90 °F) |
Boiling Point | 760 °C (1,400 °F) |
Specific Gravity | 0.862 (at 20 °C, or 68 °F) |
Oxidation States | +1, −1 (rare) |
Electron Configuration | 2-8-8-1 or 1s22s22p63s23p64s1 |