Elements that are good conductors of electric current and heat.

Elements that are good conductors of electric current and heat.

• A. Non-metals
• B. Metalloids
• C. Gases
• D. Metals

Answer: (D)

Metallic bonding creates a sea of delocalized electrons that are free to move through the metal. These mobile charge carriers let electric current flow quickly when a voltage is applied, so metals are very good conductors of electricity. For heat, those same free electrons rapidly transfer kinetic energy from hotter regions of the metal to cooler regions, speeding up thermal conduction. The lattice ions also vibrate to pass heat, but the fast-moving electrons are the main reason metals conduct heat well. Non-metals tend to have few free electrons, and gases are spread far apart, so they don’t conduct well; metalloids sit between metals and non-metals in conductivity.

Metallic bonding creates a sea of delocalized electrons that are free to move through the metal. These mobile charge carriers let electric current flow quickly when a voltage is applied, so metals are very good conductors of electricity. For heat, those same free electrons rapidly transfer kinetic energy from hotter regions of the metal to cooler regions, speeding up thermal conduction. The lattice ions also vibrate to pass heat, but the fast-moving electrons are the main reason metals conduct heat well. Non-metals tend to have few free electrons, and gases are spread far apart, so they don’t conduct well; metalloids sit between metals and non-metals in conductivity.