Which material among Si, Ge, and Sn behaves as a metal?
**Energy bands in semiconductors** consist of valence band filled at 0 K and conduction band empty, gap E_g small ~1 eV (Si 1.1 eV, Ge 0.7 eV), insulators large gap >3 eV (C diamond 5.4 eV), conductors overlapping. Intrinsic semiconductor at 0 K behaves as insulator because no thermal excitation, at T>0 K electrons jump to conduction band leaving holes, conductivity increases with temperature. Sn (tin) has an energy gap of 0 eV, typical of metals with overlapping bands, unlike Si (1.1 eV) and Ge (0.7 eV), which are semiconductors. Substituting values gives Sn, which matches expected behaviour
Ref: NCERT > Physics Book > Electronic Devices > Semiconductors, Types and Energy Bands