finishing at group 10 (nickel, palladium and platinum), therefore excluding group 11 (copper, silver and gold), and group 12 (zinc, cadmium and mercury). A survey of chemistry books in 2003 showed that the transition metals ended at either group 11 or group 12 with roughly equal frequency. Where the post-transition metals end depends on where the metalloids or nonmetals start. Boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony and tellurium are commonly recognised as metalloids; other authors treat some or all of these elements as nonmetals. Arsenic, selenium, and tellurium, though lying to the right of the stairstep line, have occasionally been included as post-transition metals. Rationale The diminished metallic nature of the post-transition metals is largely attributable to the increase in nuclear charge going across the periodic table, from left to right. The increase in nuclear charge is partially offset by an increasing number of electrons but as these are spatially distributed each extra electron does not fully screen each successive increase in nuclear charge, and the latter therefore dominates. With some irregularities, atomic radii contract, ionisation energies increase, fewer electrons become available for metallic bonding, and "ions [become] smaller and more polarizing and more prone to covalency." This phenomenon is more evident in period 4–6 post-transition metals, due to inefficient screening of their nuclear charges by their d10 and (in the case of the period 6 metals) f14 electron configurations; the screening power of electrons decreases in the sequence s > p > d > f. The reductions in atomic size due to the interjection of the d- and f-blocks are referred to as, respectively, the 'scandide' or 'd-block contraction', and the 'lanthanide contraction'. Relativistic effects also "increase the binding energy", and hence ionisation energy, of the electrons in "the 6s shell in gold and mercury, and the 6p shell in subsequent elements of period 6." Descriptive chemistry This section outlines relevant physical and chemical properties of the elements typically or sometimes classified as post-transition metals. For complete profiles, including history, production, specific uses, and biological roles and precautions, see the main article for each element. Abbreviations: MH—Mohs hardness; BCN—bulk coordination number. Group 10 Platinum is a moderately hard metal (MH 3.5) of low mechanical strength, with a close-packed face-centred cubic structure (BCN 12). Compared to other metals in this category, it has an unusually high melting point (2042 K v 1338 for gold). Platinum is more ductile than gold, silver