Compare Sodium vs Aluminium
Comparing Sodium (Na) and Aluminium (Al). Atomic numbers 11 and 13 with atomic masses 22.99 u and 26.982 u, classified as alkali metal and post-transition metal. Below: a side-by-side comparison of their physical, atomic, electron-configuration and historical properties, including density, melting and boiling points, ionization energies, oxidation states and discovery history.
Periodic properties of the elements
| Sodium | Aluminium | |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Na | Al |
| Atomic number | 11 | 13 |
| Group | 1 | 13 |
| Period | 3 | 3 |
| Block | s | p |
| Element category | Alkali Metal | Post-Transition Metal |
Physical properties
| Sodium | Aluminium | |
|---|---|---|
| Phase at STP | Solid | Solid |
| Density | 0.968 g/cm3 | 2.7 g/cm3 |
| Atomic weight | 22.9898 u | 26.9815 u |
| Melting point | 370.944 K 97.794 °C 208.0292 °F | 933.47 K 660.32 °C 1220.576 °F |
| Boiling point | 1156.09 K 882.94 °C 1621.292 °F | 2743 K 2469.85 °C 4477.73 °F |
Atomic properties
| Sodium | Aluminium | |
|---|---|---|
| Electronegativity (Pauling Scale) | 0.93 | 1.61 |
| Electron affinity | 52.867 kJ/mol | 41.762 kJ/mol |
| Oxidation states | −1, +1 (a strongly basic oxide) | −2, −1, +1, +2, +3 (an amphoteric oxide) |
| Ionization energies |
|
|
Electron configuration
| Sodium | Aluminium | |
|---|---|---|
| Shorthand configuration | [Ne] 3s1 | [Ne] 3s2 3p1 |
| Full configuration | 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1 | 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p1 |
| Electrons per shell | 2, 8, 1 | 2, 8, 3 |
History
| Sodium | Aluminium | |
|---|---|---|
| Prediction | Antoine Lavoisier (1782) | |
| Discovery | Humphry Davy (1807) | Hans Christian Ørsted (1824) |
| First isolation | Humphry Davy (1807) | |
| Named by | Humphry Davy (1812) |