---
title: "Zinc (Zn) — element 30"
description: "Zinc is element 30, symbol Zn, atomic weight 65.38. Configuration, properties, uses and neighbours."
url: https://atoneplace.net/element/zinc/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Zinc (Zn)

**Zinc — element 30: Zn**

65.38 u · Transition metal · period 4, group 12

Galvanising works because zinc is more reactive than steel, not less: the coating corrodes preferentially and protects the steel even where the surface is scratched through. Zinc is essential to human life in a way that shows up fast — it sits in the active site of hundreds of enzymes, and deficiency is a major cause of childhood stunting and diarrhoeal deaths worldwide. A US cent minted since 1982 is 97.5% zinc, about 2.4 grams of it, under a copper plating that makes up the other 2.5%.

## Properties

- **Atomic number:** 30
- **Symbol:** Zn
- **Standard atomic weight:** 65.38 u
- **Category:** Transition metal
- **Group:** 12
- **Period:** 4
- **Block:** d-block
- **Electron configuration:** [Ar] 4s² 3d¹⁰
- **Electrons per shell:** 2, 8, 18, 2
- **Melting point:** 692.68 K — 419.5 °C — 787.2 °F
- **Boiling point:** 1,180 K — 906.9 °C — 1664.3 °F
- **Density:** 7.134 g/cm³
- **Electronegativity:** 1.65 (Pauling)
- **Oxidation states:** +2
- **Discovered:** 1746 by Andreas Sigismund Marggraf

## Electron configuration

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

## What it is used for

- Galvanising steel against rust — about half of all zinc used
- Brass, which is copper and zinc
- Die castings for door furniture, carburettors and toy cars
- Zinc oxide in sunscreen, nappy cream and rubber manufacture
- The anode in alkaline and zinc-air batteries

> Filed as a transition metal because it is in the d-block and every school table colours it that way. Under IUPAC's strict definition it is not one: zinc's d subshell is full in the metal and in every zinc compound, and the same argument applies to cadmium and mercury.

## Neighbours in the table

| Z | Element | Symbol | Mass |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 28 | Nickel | Ni | 58.693 |
| 29 | Copper | Cu | 63.546 |
| 30 | Zinc ← | Zn | 65.38 |
| 31 | Gallium | Ga | 69.723 |
| 32 | Germanium | Ge | 72.63 |

## Group 12

Elements in the same group share their outer electron count, which is why they behave similarly in reactions. Zinc sits in group 12 with cadmium, mercury, copernicium.

## Common questions

### What is the atomic number of zinc?

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

### What is the symbol for zinc?

Zn.

### What is the electron configuration of zinc?

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

### What is the melting point of zinc?

692.68 K — 419.5 °C — 787.2 °F

## Related pages

- [Nickel (Ni)](https://atoneplace.net/element/nickel/)
- [Copper (Cu)](https://atoneplace.net/element/copper/)
- [Gallium (Ga)](https://atoneplace.net/element/gallium/)
- [Germanium (Ge)](https://atoneplace.net/element/germanium/)
- [Cadmium (Cd)](https://atoneplace.net/element/cadmium/)
- [Mercury (Hg)](https://atoneplace.net/element/mercury/)
- [Copernicium (Cn)](https://atoneplace.net/element/copernicium/)

## Sources

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