Iron vs Copper
The two metals Bangladesh meets every day — the steel of every building rod and the copper of every wire — compared side by side.
Side by side
| Property | Iron | Copper |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Fe | Cu |
| Atomic number (Z) | 26 | 29 |
| Atomic mass | 55.845 u | 63.546 u |
| Category | Transition metal | Transition metal |
| Group | 8 | 11 |
| Period | 4 | 4 |
| Phase at room temp | solid | solid |
| Electron configuration | [Ar] 3d^6 4s^2 | [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s¹ |
| Valence electrons | 2 | 1 |
| Atomic radius | 156 pm | 145 pm |
| Electronegativity | 1.83 | 1.9 |
| First ionisation energy | 763 kJ/mol | 745 kJ/mol |
The verdicts
- Bigger atom: Iron — the lower an element sits in its group, the more shells it wears.
- Greedy electron-taker: Copper — higher electronegativity means it pulls shared electrons harder.
- Heavier: Copper — 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.