Here's why:

* Properties of metals: Metals are typically shiny, malleable (can be hammered into thin sheets), ductile (can be drawn into wires), good conductors of heat and electricity, and have a high melting point.

* Lithium's properties: Lithium exhibits all of these properties, making it a metal.

Although it's a metal, it's a very soft, reactive alkali metal, unlike the harder, less reactive metals like iron or copper.