Malleable — Science definition
Able to be hammered or rolled into thin sheets without breaking.
Where it is taught
- Metallic Bonding — Bonding, Formulas & Molecular Structure, Physical Science: Chemistry, Grade 11
Questions using malleable
Problem 1
Why are metals malleable (able to be hammered into sheets)?
- Their ions can slide past one another while the electron sea keeps holding them together
- Their bonds are rigid and point in fixed directions
- They contain no electrons to get in the way
- They are made of separate small molecules
Answer and explanation
Their ions can slide past one another while the electron sea keeps holding them together
When struck, layers of metal ions shift, but the mobile electron sea flows with them and keeps the metal bonded, so it bends instead of breaking.