Hydrogen vs Carbon

Side-by-side comparison of Hydrogen (H, element 1) and Carbon (C, element 6) by atomic structure and physical properties.

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PropertyH Hydrogen C Carbon
Atomic number16
SymbolHC
NameHydrogenCarbon
Categorynonmetalnonmetal
Standard Atomic Weight1.007975 u12.0106 u
Period12
Group114
Blocksp
Phase at STPGasSolid
Electron configuration1s1[He]2s22p2
Oxidation states[-1, 1][-4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
Electronegativity (Pauling)2.22.55
Electron affinity0.75419 eV1.2621 eV
Density0.08988 kg/m³2267 kg/m³
Melting point-259.193 °C3549.85 °C
Boiling point-252.781 °C3824.85 °C
Discovery year17661797

Key Differences

PropertyH HydrogenC Carbon
Standard Atomic Weight1.007975 u ↓ lower12.0106 u ↑ higher
Density0.08988 kg/m³ ↓ lower2267 kg/m³ ↑ higher
Melting point-259.193 °C ↓ lower3549.85 °C ↑ higher
Boiling point-252.781 °C ↓ lower3824.85 °C ↑ higher
Electronegativity (Pauling)2.2 ↓ lower2.55 ↑ higher
Electron affinity0.75419 eV ↓ lower1.2621 eV ↑ higher
Period1 2
Group1 14
Blocks p
Phase at STPGas Solid
Electron configuration1s1 [He]2s22p2
Discovery year1766 1797