---
title: "Carbon (C) — element 6"
description: "Carbon is element 6, symbol C, atomic weight 12.011. Configuration, properties, uses and neighbours."
url: https://atoneplace.net/element/carbon/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Carbon (C)

**Carbon — element 6: C**

12.011 u · Nonmetal · period 2, group 14

Carbon forms more compounds than every other element combined — millions of them — because it bonds to itself in chains, rings and sheets without the bonds getting weaker. Its allotropes are the widest spread of properties any single element manages: diamond is the hardest natural substance and one of the best thermal conductors, graphite is soft enough to write with, and both are pure carbon differing only in how the atoms are arranged. Carbon-14, made continuously in the upper atmosphere by cosmic rays, decays with a half-life of 5,730 years, which is what makes radiocarbon dating work back to roughly 50,000 years.

## Properties

- **Atomic number:** 6
- **Symbol:** C
- **Standard atomic weight:** 12.011 u
- **Category:** Nonmetal
- **Group:** 14
- **Period:** 2
- **Block:** p-block
- **Electron configuration:** [He] 2s² 2p²
- **Electrons per shell:** 2, 4
- **Melting point:** 3,823 K — 3549.8 °C — 6421.7 °F
- **Boiling point:** 4,098 K — 3824.8 °C — 6916.7 °F
- **Density:** 2.267 g/cm³
- **Electronegativity:** 2.55 (Pauling)
- **Oxidation states:** +4, +2, -4
- **Discovered:** Known since antiquity

## Electron configuration

- **Full:** 1s² 2s² 2p²
- **Noble gas shorthand:** [He] 2s² 2p²
- **Shells:** K: 2 · L: 4

## What it is used for

- Steelmaking — carbon content is what separates iron from steel
- Graphite electrodes in electric arc furnaces and in lithium-ion anodes
- Carbon fibre in bicycles, aircraft and wind turbine blades
- Activated charcoal in water filters and in emergency medicine
- Diamond abrasives and cutting tools

> IUPAC publishes an interval, [12.0096, 12.0116]; 12.011 is the conventional value. Carbon does not melt at ordinary pressure — graphite sublimes near 3,900 K — and the quoted melting point applies under roughly 10 MPa. The density given is for graphite; diamond is 3.51 g/cm³.

## Neighbours in the table

| Z | Element | Symbol | Mass |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 4 | Beryllium | Be | 9.0122 |
| 5 | Boron | B | 10.81 |
| 6 | Carbon ← | C | 12.011 |
| 7 | Nitrogen | N | 14.007 |
| 8 | Oxygen | O | 15.999 |

## Group 14

Elements in the same group share their outer electron count, which is why they behave similarly in reactions. Carbon sits in group 14 with silicon, germanium, tin, lead, flerovium.

## Common questions

### What is the atomic number of carbon?

6. That is the number of protons in its nucleus, which is what defines the element.

### What is the symbol for carbon?

C.

### What is the electron configuration of carbon?

1s² 2s² 2p², or [He] 2s² 2p² in noble-gas shorthand.

### What is the melting point of carbon?

3,823 K — 3549.8 °C — 6421.7 °F

## Related pages

- [Beryllium (Be)](https://atoneplace.net/element/beryllium/)
- [Boron (B)](https://atoneplace.net/element/boron/)
- [Nitrogen (N)](https://atoneplace.net/element/nitrogen/)
- [Oxygen (O)](https://atoneplace.net/element/oxygen/)
- [Silicon (Si)](https://atoneplace.net/element/silicon/)
- [Germanium (Ge)](https://atoneplace.net/element/germanium/)
- [Tin (Sn)](https://atoneplace.net/element/tin/)
- [Lead (Pb)](https://atoneplace.net/element/lead/)
- [Flerovium (Fl)](https://atoneplace.net/element/flerovium/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)