How does temperature generally affect the electrical conductivity of metals?

The relationship between temperature and the electrical conductivity of metals is characterized by a decrease in conductivity as the temperature increases. In metals, conductivity is primarily due to the movement of free electrons. As temperature rises, the metal's lattice structure vibrates more intensely, which leads to increased scattering of these conductive electrons.

This scattering disrupts the flow of electrons, causing a higher resistance to the flow of electricity. Consequently, as the temperature increases, the electrical conductivity tends to decrease because the effective movement of electrons is hindered. This principle is key to understanding the behavior of metals in various thermal conditions and is important in applications such as electrical engineering and materials science.

In contrast, certain other materials like semiconductors may exhibit different behavior, where conductivity can increase with temperature due to increased charge carrier generation, but that is not applicable to metals within the context of this question.