Silver
Silver (Ag) is a transition metal with atomic number 47 and an atomic mass of 107.87. Its electron configuration is [Kr] 4d10 5s1.
Silver key data
| Symbol | Ag |
|---|---|
| Atomic number | 47 |
| Atomic mass (standard atomic weight) | 107.87 |
| Molar mass | 107.87 g/mol |
| Protons | 47 |
| Neutrons (most abundant isotope, silver-107) | 60 |
| Electrons (neutral atom) | 47 |
| Category | Transition metal |
| Period | 5 |
| Group | 11 |
| Block | d-block |
| Noble gas notation | [Kr] 4d10 5s1 |
| Full electron configuration | 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s1 |
| Electrons per shell | 2, 8, 18, 18, 1 |
Atomic mass: IUPAC CIAAW abridged standard atomic weights, 2024. Most abundant isotope: NIST Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions.
The values are facts and free to use; this page’s selection and presentation are © 2026 ScienceQuest.
Measured properties of silver
From PubChem, the US National Institutes of Health. Public domain.
| Melting point | 1234.9 K (961.78 °C), 49th of 103 by melting point |
|---|---|
| Boiling point | 2435 K (2161.9 °C), 50th of 93 by boiling point |
| Density | 10.5 g/cm³, 24th of 96 by density |
| State at room temperature | Solid |
| Electronegativity | 1.93 (Pauling), 34th of 95 by electronegativity |
| Van der Waals radius | 172 pm, 86th of 99 by atomic radius |
| First ionisation energy | 7.576 eV (731 kJ/mol), 42nd of 102 by first ionisation energy |
| Electron affinity | 1.302 eV (125.6 kJ/mol), 15th of 57 by electron affinity |
| Common oxidation states | +1 |
| Discovered | Ancient |
Each rank counts down from the highest value, among the elements PubChem’s table gives one for, and links to that property ranked across the whole table. All of them are collected under periodic trends.
Silver electron configuration
The full electron configuration of silver is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s1. With the noble-gas core collapsed it is [Kr] 4d10 5s1, and the outermost subshell is 5s1.
Silver does not follow the simple filling order. Its measured configuration differs from the one the aufbau rule predicts, because a filled d subshell sits lower in energy than the arrangement the rule would give. This is a measured fact about the atom rather than an exception to be derived.
Why group and block follow from this is set out in how the periodic table maps electron configuration, and the electron configuration of every element is listed on one page.
Mass of one silver atom
A molar mass is grams per mole, so dividing by the Avogadro constant gives the mass of a single atom, or for an element with more than one natural isotope the average mass of its atoms, and the reciprocal gives how many atoms sit in a gram.
Mass of one atom
- one atom = 107.87 / (6.02214076 × 10²³)
- = 1.7912 × 10⁻²² g
Atoms in one gram
- atoms per gram = 6.02214076 × 10²³ / 107.87
- = 5.5828 × 10²¹ atoms
Silver on the periodic table
Silver is in period 5, group 11, in the d-block.
The other elements of group 11 are copper, gold and roentgenium.
The rest of period 5
- 37 Rb Rubidium
- 38 Sr Strontium
- 39 Y Yttrium
- 40 Zr Zirconium
- 41 Nb Niobium
- 42 Mo Molybdenum
- 43 Tc Technetium
- 44 Ru Ruthenium
- 45 Rh Rhodium
- 46 Pd Palladium
- 48 Cd Cadmium
- 49 In Indium
- 50 Sn Tin
- 51 Sb Antimony
- 52 Te Tellurium
- 53 I Iodine
- 54 Xe Xenon