Metals are materials that are typically hard, shiny, good conductors of heat and electricity, and malleable. About 91 of the 118 elements in the periodic table are metals. In contrast, nonmetals lack metallic attributes - they are highly volatile, have low elasticity, and are good insulators. The 17 nonmetal elements are mostly gases like hydrogen, helium, nitrogen and oxygen, with a few solids like carbon, phosphorus and iodine. One nonmetal, bromine, is a liquid.