Question

Name a metal which is soft and a non metal which is hard.

Answer 1

The properties of non metal are that they cannot be beaten into thin sheets that means they do not have the property to be malleable. They cannot be drawn into thin wires as they cannot have the property of being ductile. They are considered as poor conductors of heat and electricity. They are non lustrous and not shiny but are dull in appearance.

Complete step-by-step answer:
The non metals also have low tensile strength and cannot hold much weight. They are not sonorous as when they are being struck by other objects they do not produce any sound. They are soft in nature and can be cut by knife easily. On reacting with nonmetals they form non metallic oxides . These are the general properties of non metal but there are some exceptions in it.

Whereas metals have the property of being malleable and ductile and sonorous. They are lustrous and have shiny appearance. They are hard and can hold much weight. They could not be cut by knife. On reacting with oxygen they form metallic oxides. They are good conductors of heat and electricity. These are the general properties of metal but there are some exceptions in it.

So the metal which is soft is sodium and the non metal which is hard is diamond. Sodium is metal and is soft in nature because in its valence shell it has one electron present and the atomic size of it is large due to which it also does not have strong chemical bonding so it is soft. Whereas diamond being a non metal is hard because the outermost shell of diamond has four electrons which have been shared with other electrons of carbon. And thus forms a strong chemical bond.

Note: Diamond is the allotrope of carbon. It is a tetrahedron structure in which the carbon carbon bond lengths are equal. It is used in the making of tools which are utilized in cutting and drilling. It is also used in the making of jewellery. Sodium is used in the manufacturing of esters and in manufacturing of glass.