Electronic configuration of carbon

Electrons in each shell

Carbon has 6 electrons arranged as 2, 4 across 2 shells, which is why it sits in period 2.

How to write it

Electrons fill orbitals in order of increasing energy: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p… Each s orbital holds 2 electrons, p holds 6 and d holds 10. Placing Carbon's 6 electrons in that order gives 1s² 2s² 2p².

Carbon at a glance

Atomic number	6
Symbol	C
Atomic mass	12.011 u
Group	14
Period	2
Block	p-block
Category	Non-metal
Valence electrons	4

Could you find carbon in 6 guesses?Play Tatva, the free daily periodic table game

Other elements in group 14

Elements in the same group have the same number of outer electrons, which is why they behave alike.