Question

Brian is given an unknown element that is bright when sunlight hits it. He has a hammer and an electrical source. If he attached the electrical source, what might happen if the substance is a metalloid?

Answer 1

Answer: We know that the material has a bright when sunlight hits it, now we connect an electricl source to our material, which implies that we may have a current in it.

Metalloids are materials between metals and non-metals, and one way to differentiate them of the metals is by the fact that metalloids are semi-conductors (and normal metals are conductors)

This would mean that a current flowing in a metalloid will "dissipate" faster than if it flowed in a metal.

And one interesting thing about them is that if you increase the temperature of the metalloid the electrical conductivity also does increase.

Answering the question, with the source attached to the metalloid, we will have current flow, but the reading (amperage) should show that the total current decreases, and we also may see an increase in the temperature of the material (it heats when the electrons flowing inside of it stop moving, for example, because a collision)

Answer 2

Metalloids are between metals and non-metals. Metals conduct electricity while Non-metals do not. Since metalloids are somewhere in between, then the substance may conduct some electricity. Hope it helps.