Question

What is boron?
A. Non-metal
B. Metal
C. Metalloid
D. Alloy

Answer 1

Boron is a chemical element having atomic number 5. It is represented by the symbol B. it is a low-abundance element in the Solar System or in the Earth crust. Generally the word boron is derived from borax is the mineral which is somewhat analogous to carbon.

Complete answer:
Boron is generally a group 13 element which is kept in the category of p-block elements as its outermost electron is present in p subshell shown as$1{{s}^{2}}2{{s}^{2}}2{{p}^{1}}$. Boron is neither a metal nor a non-metal; it is kept in the category of metalloids. Metalloids are generally those compounds whose properties are in between metal and non-metal or we can say that they have mixed properties of both metal and non-metal.
Metalloids are a very small group of elements found in the periodic table. These elements are present in the table along the zig-zag line that distinguishes metals from nonmetals and is drawn from between boron and aluminum to the border between polonium and astatine. Only seven elements in the periodic table are considered to be metalloid in which boron is the first one. These are generally good semiconductors and have electronegativity ionization energy in between the metal and non-metals.

Hence option C is the correct answer.

Note:
Boron is generally used in fireworks because of its quality of changing the color into green while burning and it is one of the most explosive metalloids. It can also be used in the form of boric acid as a cleaning agent. Boron is also used as a semi-natural pest controlling agent.