Copper vs Silver
Copper and Silver sit in the same column of the periodic table — same family, one period apart — so almost every difference between them comes from one thing: the extra electron shell Silver wears.
Side by side
| Property | Copper | Silver |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Cu | Ag |
| Atomic number (Z) | 29 | 47 |
| Atomic mass | 63.546 u | 107.87 u |
| Category | Transition metal | Transition metal |
| Group | 11 | 11 |
| Period | 4 | 5 |
| Phase at room temp | solid | solid |
| Electron configuration | [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s¹ | [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s¹ |
| Valence electrons | 1 | 1 |
| Atomic radius | 145 pm | 165 pm |
| Electronegativity | 1.9 | 1.93 |
| First ionisation energy | 745 kJ/mol | 731 kJ/mol |
The verdicts
- Bigger atom: Silver — the lower an element sits in its group, the more shells it wears.
- Greedy electron-taker: Silver — higher electronegativity means it pulls shared electrons harder.
- Heavier: Silver — compare the atomic masses in the table above.
Want the visual version with bars for radius, electronegativity and ionisation energy? Open the interactive compare tool with this pair already loaded.