57 La 138.905

Lanthanum

lanthanide

Properties

Atomic number
57
Atomic mass
138.905 u
Category
lanthanide
Group
f-block
Period
6
Block
f-block
State (room temp)
Solid
Outer-shell electrons
2
Electronegativity
1.1 (Pauling)
Density
6.162 g/cm³
Melting point
919.85 °C
Boiling point
3463.85 °C

Electron configuration

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁶ 6s² 5d¹

Noble-gas shorthand: [Xe] 5d¹ 6s²

Electrons per shell: 2, 8, 18, 18, 9, 2 — that's 2 in the outermost shell.

See how electron configuration is built →

La
Bohr model — outer-shell electrons in blue

About Lanthanum

Lanthanum is a soft, ductile, silvery-white metallic chemical element with symbol La and atomic number 57. It tarnishes rapidly when exposed to air and is soft enough to be cut with a knife. It gave its name to the lanthanide series, a group of 15 similar elements between lanthanum and lutetium in the periodic table:it is also sometimes considered the first element of the 6th-period transition metals.

Position in the periodic table

Open the interactive periodic table →

Data compiled from Wikipedia, PubChem, and IUPAC. Source.