Is Fluorine a Metal, Nonmetal or Metalloid?
Fluorine (F) is a nonmetal (a halogen) — a halogen — a nonmetal of group 17 with seven valence electrons, just one short of a full shell, making it a fierce electron-taker. It sits in group 17, period 2, and is a gas at room temperature.
Looking for Fluorine'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 Fluorine page is one click away.
The one-line answer, with reasons
Fluorine is a nonmetal (a halogen). Chemists decide by behaviour, not appearance: metals (unlike Fluorine) give up electrons, shine when freshly cut, and conduct heat and electricity; nonmetals take or share electrons and (as solids) break rather than bend. Fluorine follows the nonmetal playbook — placed in the halogen family of the table.
Fluorine's metal/nonmetal report card
| Property | Value | Typical of |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Halogen | — |
| Phase at room temp | gas | varies |
| Block | p-block | — |
| Group | 17 | — |
| Period | 2 | — |
The family it belongs to
The whole halogen family shares one seating area of the table, and every member's family ID card is one click away — compare Fluorine with its upstairs or downstairs neighbour and the family pattern jumps out.
Students also ask
Is Fluorine a good conductor of electricity?
No — Fluorine is a nonmetal and does not conduct the way metals do.
Can a gas be a nonmetal — like Fluorine?
Yes — being a metal or nonmetal is about bonding and electron behaviour, not state. At room temperature Fluorine is a gas, and that says nothing against its nonmetallic character.