Is Arsenic a Metal, Nonmetal or Metalloid?
Arsenic (As) is a metalloid — neither a full metal nor a nonmetal — a metalloid (semi-metal): it straddles the boundary, conducting like a metal in some conditions and behaving like a nonmetal in others. It sits in group 15, period 4, and is a solid at room temperature.
Looking for Arsenic's metal or nonmetal without wading through a whole chapter? Here is the direct answer first, then the tables and derivations examiners want to see. Every number on this page comes from the same engine that powers the interactive table. Need the whole picture instead — history, characteristics, uses, exam questions? The full Arsenic page is one click away.
The one-line answer, with reasons
Arsenic is a metalloid — neither a full metal nor a nonmetal. Chemists decide by behaviour, not appearance: metals (unlike Arsenic) give up electrons, shine when freshly cut, and conduct heat and electricity; nonmetals take or share electrons and (as solids) break rather than bend. Arsenic sits exactly on the border, sharing habits of both sides — placed in the metalloid family of the table.
Arsenic's metal/nonmetal report card
| Property | Value | Typical of |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Metalloid | — |
| Phase at room temp | solid | varies |
| Block | p-block | — |
| Group | 15 | — |
| Period | 4 | — |
The family it belongs to
The whole metalloid family shares one seating area of the table, and every member's family ID card is one click away — compare Arsenic with its upstairs or downstairs neighbour and the family pattern jumps out.
Students also ask
Is Arsenic a good conductor of electricity?
Partly — as a metalloid, Arsenic conducts under some conditions, which is exactly why it is useful in electronics.
Can a gas be a nonmetal — like Arsenic?
Yes — being a metal or nonmetal is about bonding and electron behaviour, not state. At room temperature Arsenic is a solid, and that says nothing against its nonmetallic character.