Consider the four elements shown above – copper, sulfur, helium and mercury. Explain which you think are metals.

Copper and mercury are metals. They are found on the left side of the periodic table, which is where most metals are located.

Copper is a transition metal, known for its high thermal and electrical conductivity. It is often used in electrical wiring and plumbing because of these properties.

Mercury is also a metal, but it's unique because it's liquid at room temperature. It's used in thermometers and barometers because it expands and contracts evenly with temperature and pressure changes.

On the other hand, sulfur and helium are not metals. Sulfur is a nonmetal, and it's often found in nature as a yellow crystalline solid. Helium is a noble gas, which is a group of elements that are all gases and are very unreactive.