C
Carbon · element 6
Polyatomic Nonmetal · Solid at room temperature
Carbon (from Latin:carbo "coal") is a chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. On the periodic table, it is the first (row 2) of six elements in column (group) 14, which have in common the composition of their outer electron shell. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds.
Key facts
Atomic mass
12.011 u
how heavy one atom is
Phase (room temp.)
Solid
Density
1.821 g/cm³
how tightly packed it is
Period
2
its row in the periodic table
Group
14
its column in the periodic table
Block
P-block
the neighbourhood it lives in
Electronegativity
2.55
how strongly it pulls electrons
Electron configuration
[He] 2s2 2p2
where its electrons live
Shells
2 · 4
electrons in each layer, inside to out
Discovered by
Ancient Egypt
who found it
Source: Wikipedia