Which of the following elements is considered as a metalloid?

Solution

Chemistry ma’am · 3 steps

Picture the zig-zag staircase in the p-block: metalloids sit right on it, and Te is one of them.

1. What a metalloid is. A metalloid has properties in between those of metals and non-metals. For example, it is a semiconductor and forms amphoteric oxides.
2. Where they sit. In the p-block, a diagonal zig-zag line runs from B down to At. The elements along it are the metalloids: B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te and Po.

   Element	Block and group	Classed as
   Sc	d-block, group 3	metal (transition)
   Pb	p-block, group 14	metal
   Bi	p-block, group 15	metal
   Te	p-block, group 16, period 5	metalloid

3. So. Tellurium sits on the metalloid line in period 5, between Sb (also a metalloid) and the non-metal I. The answer is (d).

The idea to keep. Remember the metalloid set B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te (and Po). Down a p-block group metallic character rises, so the heaviest members like Pb and Bi are true metals.

Answer from the NTA final answer key. Solution by PrepWiser.