Silver vs Gold
Silver and Gold 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 Gold wears.
Side by side
| Property | Silver | Gold |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Ag | Au |
| Atomic number (Z) | 47 | 79 |
| Atomic mass | 107.87 u | 196.97 u |
| Category | Transition metal | Transition metal |
| Group | 11 | 11 |
| Period | 5 | 6 |
| Phase at room temp | solid | solid |
| Electron configuration | [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s¹ | [Xe] 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6s¹ |
| Valence electrons | 1 | 1 |
| Atomic radius | 165 pm | 174 pm |
| Electronegativity | 1.93 | 2.54 |
| First ionisation energy | 731 kJ/mol | 890 kJ/mol |
The verdicts
- Bigger atom: Gold — the lower an element sits in its group, the more shells it wears.
- Greedy electron-taker: Gold — higher electronegativity means it pulls shared electrons harder.
- Heavier: Gold — 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.