Silver (Ag)
Element 47 · Transition metal · Solid at 25 °C · Group 11, Period 5
Silver conducts electricity and heat better than any other metal, and its compounds captured every photograph of the film era.
On the periodic table, silver sits in group 11 — the coinage metals — in period 5. It is one of 38 elements classified as a transition metal, and at room temperature (25 °C) it is a solid.
Transition metals occupy the wide d-block in the middle of the table. As a family they are hard, dense, high-melting metals that conduct heat and electricity well. Their partly filled d-orbitals let many of them take several oxidation states, form vividly colored compounds, and act as catalysts — which is why so much of industry, and so much of biology, runs on this block.
Properties of silver
| Atomic number (Z) | 47 |
|---|---|
| Symbol | Ag |
| Atomic mass | 107.87 |
| Category | Transition metal |
| Group | 11 |
| Period | 5 |
| Block | d-block |
| Metal / nonmetal | Metal |
| State at 25 °C | Solid |
| Electron configuration | [Kr] 4d10 5s1 |
| Electronegativity (Pauling) | 1.93 |
| Melting point | 961.78 °C (1,234.93 K / 1,763.2 °F) |
| Boiling point | 2,162 °C (2,435.15 K / 3,923.6 °F) |
| Density | 10.49 g/cm³ |
Position in the periodic table
Silver shares group 11 — the coinage metals with Copper (Cu), Gold (Au), Roentgenium (Rg). Elements in the same group have the same number of outer electrons, so they tend to behave alike chemically — comparing them is one of the fastest ways to see periodic trends in action.
Physical properties
Silver melts at 961.78 °C (1,234.93 K / 1,763.2 °F) and boils at 2,162 °C (2,435.15 K / 3,923.6 °F), giving it a liquid range of about 1,200.2 °C at standard pressure.
Its density is 10.49 g/cm³.
See also: the interactive periodic table, how to read the periodic table, periodic trends.