Chemical element · Atomic number 79
Gold
Gold in the periodic table: atomic number 79, electron configuration, atomic mass, physical data, oxidation states, media credit and visible sources.
Transition metal
solid
196.96657 u
Documented element sampleSynthetic gold crystals with a purity greater than 99.99 percent.
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Atomic classification
Shell occupancy
Gold in the Bohr shell model
This shows the electron distribution of the neutral atom in a simplified shell model.
- K · n=1
- 2 electrons
- L · n=2
- 8 electrons
- M · n=3
- 18 electrons
- N · n=4
- 32 electrons
- O · n=5
- 18 electrons
- P · n=6
- 1 electron
- Electron configuration
- [Xe]6s1 4f14 5d10
- Electrons per shell
- 2 · 8 · 18 · 32 · 18 · 1
- Group
- 11
- Period
- 6
- Block
- D
- Element category
- Transition metal
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Physical and chemical properties
- Atomic mass
- 196.96657 u
- Standard state
- solid
- Density
- 19.282 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 1,337.33 K
- Boiling point
- 3,129 K
- Electronegativity
- 2.54 (Pauling)
- First ionisation energy
- 9.226 eV
- Oxidation states
- +3, +1
- Discovery
- known since antiquity
Safety and periodic classification
Safety
Safe handling cannot be inferred from Gold's position in the periodic table alone. Laboratory, classroom and disposal decisions must follow the documentation for the exact material and its safety data sheet.
Position and comparison
Gold is in period 6, group 11 and the D block. Its direct neighbours by atomic number are Platinum and Mercury. The recorded Pauling electronegativity is 2.54. Periodic trends are compared only through the separately sourced neighbouring values.
Sources and scope
PubChem attributes element data to sources including IUPAC, NIST and IAEA. Quanta stores the referenced snapshot locally and leaves unknown values unavailable.