Another difference is that metals tend to lose their valence electrons, but … Metals and Non-Metals: Difference in Physical Properties. 3. They tend to gain electrons in chemical reactions. Metals have one to three electrons in their outer shell, whereas non-metals have four to eight electrons. Chemical Properties of Nonmetals. Metals and non-metals have different properties. Properties of Non-Metals. Metals are great conductors of electricity and heat and when subjected to chemical changes they loose electrons and become cations. Hari om. On the other hand, non-metals can be liquid, gaseous or solid at room temperature. 1. Nonmetals, when reacting with metals, tend to gain electrons (typically attaining noble gas electron configuration) and become anions: The chemical properties of Metals and Nonmetals are described below. Key Differences Between Metals and Non-metals. First of all, let’s look at the difference in the chemical properties between metals and non-metals. Properties of Non-metals have less in common with each other than metals. The most common chemical property is the type of oxide that the element forms. All … Metals are generally, good conductors of electricity and heat. Metals react with a dilute acid to form a metal salt and hydrogen gas. Corrode easily (e.g., damaged by oxidation such as tarnish or rust) Lose electrons easily. These properties apply to the metals in general (alkali metals, alkaline earth, transition metals, basic metals, lanthanides, actinides) and nonmetals in general (nonmetals… Here we focused on some examples like hydrogen which may behave like metals as well as nonmetals. 2. Metals and Nonmetals Metals and Nonmetals - Types, Properties and Differences Introduction: Every object around us can be categorized into two types of elements: metals or non-metals. Metals and non-metals differ tremendously in their physical and chemical characteristics. Metalloids sit in between the two classifications and share some properties with metals, although they … Metals and non-metals differ tremendously in their physical and chemical characteristics. In this article, we studied the metals, nonmetals and metalloids and how their physical, as well as chemical properties, differ from each other. Difference Between Metals and Non-Metals Metals and non-metals are substances that can be differentiated on the basis of various physical and chemical properties.