---
title: "Tin (Sn) — element 50"
description: "Tin is element 50, symbol Sn, atomic weight 118.71. Configuration, properties, uses and neighbours."
url: https://atoneplace.net/element/tin/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Tin (Sn)

**Tin — element 50: Sn**

118.71 u · Post-transition metal · period 5, group 14

Below about 13 °C ordinary white tin slowly converts into grey tin, a crumbly powder — a transformation called tin pest that has been blamed, probably too neatly, for disintegrating buttons on Napoleon's army in Russia and for the failure of Scott's fuel cans in Antarctica. Tin has ten stable isotopes, more than any other element, a consequence of 50 being a "magic number" of protons. Float glass, invented by Pilkington in 1959, works because molten glass poured onto a bath of liquid tin spreads perfectly flat and does not mix with it, which is why window glass no longer has to be ground and polished.

## Properties

- **Atomic number:** 50
- **Symbol:** Sn
- **Standard atomic weight:** 118.71 u
- **Category:** Post-transition metal
- **Group:** 14
- **Period:** 5
- **Block:** p-block
- **Electron configuration:** [Kr] 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p²
- **Electrons per shell:** 2, 8, 18, 18, 4
- **Melting point:** 505.08 K — 231.9 °C — 449.5 °F
- **Boiling point:** 2,875 K — 2601.8 °C — 4715.3 °F
- **Density:** 7.287 g/cm³
- **Electronegativity:** 1.96 (Pauling)
- **Oxidation states:** +4, +2
- **Discovered:** Known since antiquity

## Electron configuration

- **Full:** 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p²
- **Noble gas shorthand:** [Kr] 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p²
- **Shells:** K: 2 · L: 8 · M: 18 · N: 18 · O: 4

## What it is used for

- Solder for electronics and plumbing
- The tin coating inside a steel food can
- Bronze, which is copper and tin
- Float glass manufacture, where molten glass is poured onto liquid tin
- Organotin stabilisers in PVC

## Neighbours in the table

| Z | Element | Symbol | Mass |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 48 | Cadmium | Cd | 112.41 |
| 49 | Indium | In | 114.82 |
| 50 | Tin ← | Sn | 118.71 |
| 51 | Antimony | Sb | 121.76 |
| 52 | Tellurium | Te | 127.6 |

## Group 14

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

## Common questions

### What is the atomic number of tin?

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

### What is the symbol for tin?

Sn.

### What is the electron configuration of tin?

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p², or [Kr] 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p² in noble-gas shorthand.

### What is the melting point of tin?

505.08 K — 231.9 °C — 449.5 °F

## Related pages

- [Cadmium (Cd)](https://atoneplace.net/element/cadmium/)
- [Indium (In)](https://atoneplace.net/element/indium/)
- [Antimony (Sb)](https://atoneplace.net/element/antimony/)
- [Tellurium (Te)](https://atoneplace.net/element/tellurium/)
- [Carbon (C)](https://atoneplace.net/element/carbon/)
- [Silicon (Si)](https://atoneplace.net/element/silicon/)
- [Germanium (Ge)](https://atoneplace.net/element/germanium/)
- [Lead (Pb)](https://atoneplace.net/element/lead/)
- [Flerovium (Fl)](https://atoneplace.net/element/flerovium/)

## Sources

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