Question

Are sodium and potassium metals, nonmetals, or metalloids?

Answer 1

Hint : To answer this question, we first need to understand what element is. An element is a pure substance made up entirely of atoms with the same number of protons in their atomic nuclei, as defined by chemistry. Chemical elements, unlike chemical compounds, cannot be broken down chemically into simpler molecules.

Complete Step By Step Answer:
Sodium - The chemical element sodium has the symbol Na and the atomic number 11. It's a delicate, silvery-white metal with a high reactivity. Sodium belongs to the periodic table's group 1 as an alkali metal. The free metal isn't found in nature; thus, it has to be made from compounds.
Sodium is the sixth most prevalent element in the Earth's crust, and it can be found in feldspars, sodalite, and rock salt, among other minerals (NaCl).
Many sodium salts are very water soluble: sodium ions have been leached from the Earth's minerals by the action of water over ages, and sodium and chlorine are the most prevalent dissolved elements in the seas by weight.
Potassium – Potassium is a chemical element with atomic number 19 and the symbol K. Potassium is a delicate silvery-white metal that may be sliced with a knife with little effort. In mere seconds of exposure, potassium metal interacts with ambient oxygen to generate flaky white potassium peroxide.
It was first isolated from potash, or plant ashes, from which it gets its name. Potassium is an alkali metal, which all have a single valence electron in the outer electron shell that may be easily removed to generate a positive-charged ion – a cation – that can mix with anions to form salts. Potassium is only found in ionic salts in nature.
Potassium combines vigorously with water, releasing enough heat to ignite hydrogen produced during the process and produce a lilac-colored flame. It is present in numerous minerals, including orthoclase, a typical ingredient of granites and other igneous rocks, and is dissolved in seawater.
So, we conclude that sodium and potassium are metals.
So, the final answer is metals.

Note :
A metal is a material that has a glossy appearance when freshly produced, polished, or shattered, and conducts electricity and heat reasonably well. Metals are usually ductile or malleable. Metals can be chemical elements like iron, alloys like stainless steel, or molecular compounds like polymeric Sulphur nitride.