Chemical element · Atomic number 15
Phosphorus
Phosphorus in the periodic table: atomic number 15, electron configuration, atomic mass, physical data, oxidation states, media credit and visible sources.
Nonmetal
solid
30.97376200 u
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Atomic classification
Shell occupancy
Phosphorus 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
- 5 electrons
- Electron configuration
- [Ne]3s2 3p3
- Electrons per shell
- 2 · 8 · 5
- Group
- 15
- Period
- 3
- Block
- P
- Element category
- Nonmetal
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Physical and chemical properties
- Atomic mass
- 30.97376200 u
- Standard state
- solid
- Density
- 1.82 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 317.3 K
- Boiling point
- 553.65 K
- Electronegativity
- 2.19 (Pauling)
- First ionisation energy
- 10.487 eV
- Oxidation states
- +5, +3, -3
- Discovery
- 1669
Safety and periodic classification
Safety
Safe handling cannot be inferred from Phosphorus'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
Phosphorus is in period 3, group 15 and the P block. Its direct neighbours by atomic number are Silicon and Sulfur. The recorded Pauling electronegativity is 2.19. 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.