Sodium (Na) – Periodic Table [Element Information & More]

Sodium element (Na) is in group 1 and period 3 of a periodic table. Sodium is in the s-block and it is classified as an alkali metal on the periodic table.

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

So let’s dive right into it!

Table of contents

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

Sodium Element (Information Table)

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

Appearance of sodium	Silvery white
Atomic number of sodium	11
Symbol of sodium	Na
Atomic mass of sodium	22.990 u
Protons, Neutrons & Electrons in sodium	Protons: 11, Neutrons: 12, Electrons: 11
State of sodium (at STP)	Solid
Group number of sodium in periodic table	1
Period number of sodium in periodic table	3
Block of sodium in periodic table	s-block
Category of sodium	Alkali metal
Bohr model or Electrons per shell or Electrons arrangement in sodium	2, 8, 1
Electron configuration of sodium	[Ne] 3s1
Orbital diagram of sodium
Valence electrons in sodium	1
Electronegativity of sodium (on pauling scale)	0.93
Atomic radius of sodium (van der Waals radius)	227 picometers
Density of sodium	0.97 g/cm3
1st ionization energy of sodium	5.139 eV
Main isotope of sodium	23Na
Melting point of sodium	370.9 K or 97.7 °C or 208 °F
Boiling point of sodium	1156 K or 882.9 °C or 1621.2 °F
Crystal structure of sodium	Body Centered Cubic (BCC)
Discovery of sodium	By Humphry Davy in 1807

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).

Sodium element in Periodic table

The Sodium element (Na) has the atomic number 11 and is located in group 1 and period 3. Sodium is in solid state at STP and it is classified as an alkali metal on the periodic table.

Facts about sodium

Here are a few interesting facts about sodium element.

1. Sodium is a soft metal and it can be cut with a knife.
2. Sodium floats on water because it has less density than that of water.
3. Sodium is also present in the human body, and it maintains the fluid balance in the body cells.
4. Sodium is the most abundant alkali metal.
5. Sodium is the 6^th most abundant element found from the earth’s crust.
6. Around 2.3% of the earth’s crust contains sodium element.

Properties of sodium

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

Physical properties of sodium

• Sodium is a soft metal having a silvery white appearance.
• It is soft metal and it can be cut with a knife.
• Sodium metal is a good conductor of electricity as it has only 1 valence electron.
• The melting point and boiling point of sodium are 97.7 °C and 882.9 °C respectively.
• There are many isotopes of sodium, but out of those isotopes, the most stable isotope is ²³Na.

Chemical properties of sodium

• Sodium is a reactive metal and it forms an oxide layer if kept open in the air.
• As sodium is a reactive metal, it is not found in free state. But it is always found in the compound with other elements.
• When sodium metal is burnt in a flame, it produces a golden-yellow flame.
• The sodium has an electron configuration [Ne] 3s¹ and it has only 1 valence electron.
• Sodium forms various compounds like NaCl, Na₂CO₃, NaOH, NaNO₃, etc.

Uses of sodium

Here are some uses of the sodium element.

• Sodium is largely used in making NaCl, Na₂CO₃, NaOH and other useful compounds.
• Sodium bicarbonate is used in baking as well as in sodablasting.
• Sodium has a high thermal conductivity and so the liquid sodium metal is used as a heat transfer fluid in sodium-cooled fast reactors.

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