In nature, most metals are found combined with non-metal elements in chemical compounds, often referred to as minerals. If the metal can be economically extracted from the mineral, we refer to the deposit in the earth's crust as an "ore". The production of pure metals from their ores is a major industry and the development of technologies to produce metals such as copper and iron were turning points in the development of society.

Metals are valuable in everyday life because they have a range of useful properties. In this unit you will examine the bonding model for metals that scientists have developed to explain their properties.

As in all forms of bonding, the electrostatic forces that exist between the particles that make up the materials are central. In the following screens you will see how these forces can explain the properties of metals.