The World of Metals | Class 7 Science Notes
By ConceptScroll Team · Published on 17 July 2026 · 3 min read
The World of Metals – this guide gives you a concise, exam-ready overview of The World of Metals from Class 7 Science, written by ConceptScroll editors and reviewed against the latest NCERT textbook.
4.1 Properties of Materials
This section introduces the fundamental properties of materials, focusing on metals and non-metals. It begins with the property of malleability, which is the ability of a material to be beaten into thin sheets without breaking. The section includes Activity 4.1, where students collect samples of copper, aluminium, iron, coal, sulfur, and wood to observe their appearance, hardness, and behavior when hammered. The activity helps students recognize that metals like copper, aluminium, and iron are lustrous and hard, exhibiting metallic lustre, whereas non-metals like coal, sulfur, and wood are non-lustrous and softer. The activity demonstrates that metals flatten under hammering due to malleability, while non-metals either break (brittle) or neither flatten nor break (wood). The section also discusses that not all metals are hard or solid at room temperature; for example, sodium and potassium are soft, and mercury is liquid. This foundational understanding of material properties sets the stage for exploring other characteristics such as ductility, sonority, and conductivity.
📊 Diagram: Figure 4.2 shows an iron nail being beaten with a hammer on a hard surface to observe flattening or breaking.
🧪 Activity: Activity 4.1: Students collect samples of copper, aluminium, iron nail, coal, sulfur lump, and wood block to observe their lustre, hardness, and effect of hammering, recording observations in Table 4.1.
🔗 Connection: This section introduces malleability and leads to the study of other physical properties of metals such as ductility and sonority.
Frequently asked questions
1. Which metal is commonly used to make food packaging materials as it is cheaper, and its thin sheets can be folded easily into any shape? (i) Aluminium (ii) Copper (iii) Iron (iv) Gold
The correct answer is (i) Aluminium. Aluminium is commonly used for food packaging because it is cheap, lightweight, and its thin sheets can be easily folded into various shapes without breaking.
2. Which of the following metal catches fire when it comes in contact with water? (i) Copper (ii) Aluminium (iii) Zinc (iv) Sodium
The correct answer is (iv) Sodium. Sodium is a highly reactive metal that catches fire when it comes in contact with water due to its vigorous reaction producing sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas, which ignites.
3. State with reason(s) whether the following statements are True [T] or False [F]. (i) Aluminium and copper are examples of non-metals used for making utensils and statues. [ ] (ii) Metals form oxides when combined with oxygen, the solution of which turns blue litmus paper to red. [ ] (iii) Oxygen is a non-metal essential for respiration. [ ] (iv) Copper vessels are used for boiling water because they are good conductors of electricity. [ ]
(i) False. Aluminium and copper are metals, not non-metals, and are used for making utensils and statues. (ii) False. Metals form basic oxides; their solutions turn red litmus blue, not blue litmus red. (iii) True. Oxygen is a non-metal essential for respiration. (iv) False. Copper vessels are used because copper is a good conductor of heat, not electricity.
4. Why are only a few metals suitable for making jewellery?
Only a few metals are suitable for making jewellery because they have properties like lustre, malleability, ductility, resistance to corrosion, and are non-toxic. Metals like gold, silver, and platinum possess these qualities, making them ideal for jewellery.
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