Barium (Ba) – Periodic Table [Element Information & More]

Barium element (Ba) is in group 2 and period 6 of a periodic table. Barium is in the s-block and it is classified as an alkaline earth metal on the periodic table.

There is a lot more information related to barium which is mentioned in the Information Table given below.

So let’s dive right into it!

Table of contents

• Barium element (Information Table)
• Barium element in Periodic table
• Facts about Barium
• Properties of Barium
• Uses of Barium

Barium Element (Information Table)

The important data related to barium element is given in the table below.

Appearance of barium	Silvery gray metallic appearance with a pale yellow colored tint
Atomic number of barium	56
Symbol of barium	Ba
Atomic mass of barium	137.33 u
Protons, Neutrons & Electrons in barium	Protons: 56, Neutrons: 81, Electrons: 56
State of barium (at STP)	Solid
Group number of barium in periodic table	2
Period number of barium in periodic table	6
Block of barium in periodic table	s-block
Category of barium	Alkaline earth metals
Bohr model or Electrons per shell or Electrons arrangement in barium	2, 8, 18, 18, 8, 2
Electron configuration of barium	[Xe] 6s2
Orbital diagram of barium
Valence electrons in barium	2
Electronegativity of barium (on pauling scale)	0.89
Atomic radius of barium (van der Waals radius)	268 picometers
Density of barium	3.51 g/cm3
1st ionization energy of barium	5.212 eV
Main isotope of barium	138Ba
Melting point of barium	1000 K or 727 °C or 1341 °F
Boiling point of barium	2118 K or 1845 °C or 3353 °F
Crystal structure of barium	Body Centered Cubic (BCC)
Discovery of barium	By Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1772

Also see: Interactive Periodic Table (It has rotating bohr models as well as many other details of all the 118 elements in a single periodic table).

Barium element in Periodic table

The Barium element (Ba) has the atomic number 56 and is located in group 2 and period 6. Barium is in solid state at STP and it is classified as an alkaline earth metal on the periodic table.

Click on above elements in the periodic table to see their information.

Facts about barium

Here are a few interesting facts about barium element.

1. Barium was given its name from the Greek word “barys”, which means heavy.
2. Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovered barium in 1772 and Humphry Davy was the person to isolate barium in 1808.
3. Barium is the 17^th most abundant element found from the earth’s crust.
4. Our body also contains a trace amount and it is obtained from foods like onion, carrot, beans, etc.

Properties of barium

Here is a list of some physical properties and chemical properties of barium.

Physical properties of barium

• Barium has a silvery gray metallic luster having a pale yellow tint.
• Barium has a BCC crystal structure.
• The melting point and boiling point of barium is 1000 K and 2118 K respectively.
• There are many isotopes of barium, and out of those isotopes, the most abundant isotope is ¹³⁸Ba.
• The barium has a density of 3.51 g/cm³ and its atomic mass is 137.33 amu.

Chemical properties of barium

• Barium is a reactive metal and because of this reason, it is always found as a compound with other elements.
• Barium reacts with water to form barium hydroxide.
• There are 2 valence electrons in barium and it loses these 2 valence electrons to become stable.
• Barium reacts with oxygen to form barium oxide.

Uses of barium

Here are some uses of the barium element.

• Barium is  highly reactive to oxygen and because of this reason, barium is used to remove the oxygen gas present in the vacuum tubes.
• Barium nitrate and barium chlorate can produce green color, so they are used in fireworks.
• Various engine parts like spark plug, bearings, etc contain barium metal as an alloying element.
• Barium has an ability to absorb X-rays, so it is also used in X-rays absorber.
• Barium sulfate is used in making glass, rubber, drilling fluids, etc.

External resources:

1. Possolo, et al. (2018, January 4). Interpreting and propagating the uncertainty of the standard atomic weights (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure and Applied Chemistry, 90(2), 395–424. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2016-0402
2. Emsley, J. (2011). Nature’s Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. United Kingdom: OUP Oxford.
3. Barium – Wikipedia. (2020, November 24). Barium – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barium
4. Barium – Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table. (n.d.). Barium – Element Information, Properties and Uses | Periodic Table. https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/56/barium
5. P. (n.d.). Barium | Ba (Element) – PubChem. Barium | Ba (Element) – PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Barium
6. It’s Elemental – The Element Barium. (n.d.). It’s Elemental – the Element Barium. https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele056.html
7. Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory. (n.d.). Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory. https://periodic.lanl.gov/56.shtml
8. Haynes, W. M. (Ed.). (2014, June 4). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. https://doi.org/10.1201/b17118
9. Electronic structure of the elements. (2000, March). The European Physical Journal C, 15(1–4), 78–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02683401
10. James A. M. & Lord M. P. (1992). Macmillan’s chemical and physical data. Macmillan.
11. Atomic Data for Barium (Ba). (n.d.). Atomic Data for Barium (Ba). https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/Handbook/Tables/bariumtable1.htm
12. Atomic Weight of Barium | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights. (n.d.). Atomic Weight of Barium | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights. https://ciaaw.org/barium.htm
13. Barite Statistics and Information | U.S. Geological Survey. (n.d.). Barite Statistics and Information | U.S. Geological Survey. https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/barite-statistics-and-information
14. Bedford, et al. (1996, April 1). Recommended values of temperature on the International Temperature Scale of 1990 for a selected set of secondary reference points. Metrologia, 33(2), 133–154. https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/33/2/3
15. Allred, A. (1961, June). Electronegativity values from thermochemical data. Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, 17(3–4), 215–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1902(61)80142-5