Conductive Metals

[RH8448]

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I had a question on Kaplan that said to choose the most ideal metal to conduct electricity, basically. I would think a pattern would exist on the periodic table for most to least conductive metal. It does not seem like it. Does a pattern, or concept exist that makes sense of metals that conduct the most (silver) and not as much (for example zinc, relatively)? Thank you

 

[Cawolf]

The highly conductive column of the periodic table contains copper, silver, and gold.

These metals all have only one valence electron. These single s-shell electrons are well shielded and able to move freely. The electrons are easily moved through the metal, meaning that charge is more easily carried. This is by definition, conductivity.