The periodic table
Metallic character — ধাতব ধর্ম
Quick answer
How easily an atom loses electrons to become a positive ion; it increases down a group and decreases across a period.
Definition
Metallic character describes an element's readiness to lose valence electrons and form positive ions — the behaviour we call metal. It increases down a group because the outer electron sits farther from the nucleus and slips off more easily, and it decreases from left to right across a period as nuclear charge climbs. Cesium and francium, at the bottom left of the table, are the most metallic elements; fluorine, top right, is the least metallic of all.
For example
Sodium, low in Group 1, loses its single outer electron so readily that it fizzes violently in water; the nonmetal chlorine on the far right grabs electrons instead.