Answer – No, sulfur is not a metal.
Explanation:
Based on their physical and chemical properties, elements are divided into the following major categories – metals, nonmetals and metalloids. Several of these chemical properties are also a function of the number of electrons in each atom of the element. This also determines their position on the periodic table.
Sulfur appears in the third period and sixteenth group of the periodic table. It squarely falls in the section of the table that lists nonmetals. Its atomic number is sixteen and an atom of sulfur is likely to have six valence electrons. The requirement of only two more electrons to reach an octet state makes it easy for sulfur atoms to enter into combinations with other elements, and thus it is highly reactive.
Though often a brittle solid at room temperature, pure sulfur, like other nonmetals, is a very poor conductor of electricity and is insoluble in water.
