Is Lanthanum a Metal, Nonmetal or Metalloid?
Lanthanum (La) is a metal (a lanthanide) — a lanthanide — a silvery, reactive f-block metal of period 6. It sits in the f-block, period 6, and is a solid at room temperature.
Looking for Lanthanum'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 Lanthanum page is one click away.
The one-line answer, with reasons
Lanthanum is a metal (a lanthanide). Chemists decide by behaviour, not appearance: metals (like Lanthanum) give up electrons, shine when freshly cut, and conduct heat and electricity; nonmetals take or share electrons and (as solids) break rather than bend. Lanthanum checks every metal box — placed in the lanthanide family of the table.
Lanthanum's metal/nonmetal report card
| Property | Value | Typical of |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Lanthanide | — |
| Phase at room temp | solid | metals are usually solid |
| Block | f-block | — |
| Group | f-block | — |
| Period | 6 | — |
The family it belongs to
The whole lanthanide family shares one seating area of the table, and every member's family ID card is one click away — compare Lanthanum with its upstairs or downstairs neighbour and the family pattern jumps out.
Students also ask
Is Lanthanum a good conductor of electricity?
Yes — like other metals, Lanthanum conducts electricity and heat well, thanks to its sea of free electrons.
Can a gas be a metal — like Lanthanum?
Yes — being a metal or nonmetal is about bonding and electron behaviour, not state. At room temperature Lanthanum is a solid, and that says nothing against its metallic character.