Chemical element · Atomic number 50

Tin

Tin in the periodic table: atomic number 50, electron configuration, atomic mass, physical data, oxidation states, media credit and visible sources.

Sn

Post-transition metal

solid

118.71 u

Sample of tin with a purity of 99.9 percentDocumented element sample

A sample of pure tin at 99.9 percent purity.

Image credit: Sayus Savyetskyih

Auto-oriented, limited to 1600 × 1200 pixels and re-encoded as WebP; the subject was not altered.

Commons fileLicence: Public Domain

Atomic classification

Tin in the Bohr shell modelThis shows the electron distribution of the neutral atom in a simplified shell model.: 2 · 8 · 18 · 18 · 4

Shell occupancy

Tin 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
18 electrons
O · n=5
4 electrons
Shell occupancy is derived from the versioned PubChem electron configuration. Dot angles are schematic and do not represent orbitals.
Electron configuration
[Kr]5s2 4d10 5p2
Electrons per shell
2 · 8 · 18 · 18 · 4
Group
14
Period
5
Block
P
Element category
Post-transition metal

Physical and chemical properties

Atomic mass
118.71 u
Standard state
solid
Density
7.287 g/cm³
Melting point
505.08 K
Boiling point
2,875 K
Electronegativity
1.96 (Pauling)
First ionisation energy
7.344 eV
Oxidation states
+4, +2
Discovery
known since antiquity

Safety and periodic classification

Safety

Safe handling cannot be inferred from Tin'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

Tin is in period 5, group 14 and the P block. Its direct neighbours by atomic number are Indium and Antimony. The recorded Pauling electronegativity is 1.96. 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.

Where Tin sits among the 118 elements

The table compares the reported values for Tin with every other element that carries the same value in the snapshot. A rank is not a judgement, it is orientation: it says how unusual this value is across the periodic table.

ValueTinPosition in the data set
Melting point505.08 KRank 78 of 103 elements with a reported value. Highest: Carbon.
Boiling point2,875 KRank 44 of 93 elements with a reported value. Highest: Rhenium.
Density7.287 g/cm³Rank 45 of 96 elements with a reported value. Highest: Osmium.
Electronegativity (Pauling)1.96Rank 33 of 95 elements with a reported value. Highest: Fluorine.
Ionisation energy7.344 eVRank 48 of 102 elements with a reported value. Highest: Helium.

All values and ranks come from the PubChem Periodic Table snapshot, retrieved on 2026-07-15. Elements without a reported value are excluded, so the population differs per row.

The neighbours of Tin in the periodic table

Place in the table
Group 14, period 5, P block. Classified as post-transition metal, solid at standard conditions.
Direct neighbours
Atomic number 50. Preceded by Indium, followed by Antimony.
Same group
Same number of outer electrons, and therefore similar reactivity to Carbon, Silicon, Germanium, Lead, Flerovium.
Discovery
Recorded in the snapshot as: known since antiquity. Who, where and under what circumstances is not part of that record, so this page carries the sourced year and no discovery narrative.
Oxidation states
+4, +2. They follow from the electron configuration [Kr]5s2 4d10 5p2 and indicate which compounds to expect.

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