Tin
Tin is a soft metal that can coat other metals and form useful low-melting alloys.
Tin links an ancient alloy with the tiny joints in modern electronics.
Explore Tin's atom- Atomic number
- 50
- Standard atomic weight
- 118.710(7)
- Family
- Post-transition
- Period
- 5
- Group
- 14
- Standard state
- Solid
In everyday life
Tin appears in solder and in the protective coating on many steel food cans.
Something to remember
A tin can is usually steel coated with tin, rather than a can made entirely of tin.
Meet its electrons
[Kr] 5s2 4d10 5p2
Published neutral-atom ground-state configuration; excited atoms and ions can differ.
Electrons per shell: 2 · 8 · 18 · 18 · 4.
The playground shows an illustrative shell model. Real electrons are described by quantum orbitals, rather than tiny planets traveling along fixed paths.
A connection to explore
Tin and copper together form bronze, with different properties from either pure metal.
Meet Copper (Cu)Properties and conditions
- Standard atomic weight
- 118.710(7)CIAAW 2024 standard atomic weight (dimensionless). Parentheses give uncertainty in the last quoted digits. Source flags: g.CIAAW standard atomic weights ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Standard state
- SolidPubChem classification, including explicit predictions where stated. Reference temperature and pressure are not supplied in the table.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- First ionisation energy
- 7.344 eVEnergy to remove the first electron from an isolated neutral gas-phase atom. Uncertainty is not supplied.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Electronegativity
- 1.96 Pauling scaleA dimensionless relative measure; values depend on the chosen scale. Uncertainty is not supplied.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Melting point
- 505.08 KPubChem reported value. Pressure, allotrope and measurement uncertainty are not specified in the table; consult the cited source.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Boiling point
- 2875 KPubChem reported value. Pressure and measurement uncertainty are not specified in the table; consult the cited source.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Density
- 7.287 g/cm³PubChem reported value. Temperature, pressure, allotrope and measurement uncertainty are not specified in the table; gas densities are especially condition-dependent.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Oxidation states
- +4, +2Selected PubChem oxidation states; formal electron bookkeeping, not a list of stable free-ion charges or every possible compound.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Discovery
- AncientPubChem discovery attribution. Ancient knowledge and competing priority claims cannot always be represented by a single year.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Atomic radius
- 217 pmPubChem tabulated radius. Radius definitions depend on bonding and convention; measurement definition and uncertainty are not supplied in this table.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Electron affinity
- 1.2 eVPubChem reported gas-phase electron affinity. Sign conventions and electronic states matter; uncertainty is not supplied in this table.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
Isotopes, abundance and decay
Isotopes share a proton count but have different neutron counts. This selection includes naturally tabulated compositions and a reference isotope for other elements. It is not a list of every known isotope.
Explore 10 isotopes of Sn
| Isotope | Relative atomic mass | Natural fraction | Half-life | Decay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sn-112 | 111.90482387(61) | 0.0097(1) | No decay observed | ;2β+ ? |
| Sn-114 | 113.9027827(10) | 0.0066(1) | No decay observed | No decay tabulated |
| Sn-115 | 114.903344699(16) | 0.0034(1) | No decay observed | No decay tabulated |
| Sn-116 | 115.90174280(10) | 0.1454(9) | No decay observed | No decay tabulated |
| Sn-117 | 116.90295398(52) | 0.0768(7) | No decay observed | No decay tabulated |
| Sn-118 | 117.90160657(54) | 0.2422(9) | No decay observed | No decay tabulated |
| Sn-119 | 118.90331117(78) | 0.0859(4) | No decay observed | No decay tabulated |
| Sn-120 | 119.90220163(97) | 0.3258(9) | No decay observed | No decay tabulated |
| Sn-122 | 121.9034438(26) | 0.0463(3) | No decay observed | ;2β− ? |
| Sn-124 | 123.9052766(11) | 0.0579(5) | No decay observed | ;2β− ? |
Fractions use NIST’s terrestrial isotopic compositions, which can vary by sample. Parentheses denote uncertainty in the last digits. Half-lives and decay branches use NUBASE2020; # marks estimates, >/< mark limits. “No decay observed” follows that evaluation and does not prove permanent stability. Decay branch intensities are percentages; SF means spontaneous fission, EC electron capture, IT an isomeric transition.
Follow the science
Use these original references to explore the data and context. Atomic weights can vary with isotope composition; values for elements without stable isotopes may describe a representative isotope rather than a standard atomic weight.