Question

Why are metals good conductors of electricity whereas glass is a bad conductor of electricity? Give reason.

Answer 1

Hint:
The substance that allows flow of current is known as the good electric conductors. The substance that does not allow the flow of current is known as the bad electric conductor.

Complete step by step answer:
The atom is divided into two parts, nucleus, and the electros. The nucleus is the central positive charge of the atom. The whole mass of the atom is situated in the nucleus. Electrons are the negatively charged particles of the atom. The electrons revolve around the nucleus of the atom. Electrons revolve around the nucleus in different shells. The electrons present in the outermost shell of the atom are known as the valence electrons.

The elements based on valence electrons of the periodic table are classified in the groups of:
1. Metals: The metals have free electrons.
2. Non-metals: The non-metals do not have free electrons.
3. Semiconductor: The group of elements that do not belong to the above two categories are known as the semiconductors.

The metals are those materials which have one two or three valence electrons in the outermost shell. These free electrons are responsible for flow of heat and current.

The non-metallic materials do not have free electrons. Thus, these are not good conductors of heat and electricity. Glass is the example of the non-metals. So, it is a bad conductor of heat and electricity.

Note:
The conductivity of the semiconductors lies in between the conductivity of the metals and non-metals. The conductivity of a semiconductor is more than that of the non-metals and less than the metals.