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Yttrium, a rare earth metal, has a silver-grey color and metallic luster. It also appears highly crystalline. Yttrium displays chemical properties similar to those of rare earth elements. It dissolves in both mineral acids and alkalis, which are chemical opposites of one another.
If you dissolve silver nitrate in water and add sodium hydroxide, you form silver oxide. Adding ammonia then converts this into a diammine-silver(I) complex - a silver 1+ ion bonded to two ammonia molecules. Adding sugar to this mixture reduces the silver to its lustrous metallic form, and deposits it on the surface as a perfect, shiny mirror.