Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to its heavier homologues strontium and barium. It is the fifth most abundant element in Earth's crust, and the third most abundant metal, after iron and aluminium. The most common calcium compound on Earth is calcium carbonate, found in limestone and the fossils of early sea life; gypsum, anhydrite, fluorite, and apatite are also sources of calcium. The name comes from Latin calx "lime", which was obtained from heating limestone.

Calcium, ₂₀Ca

Calcium
Appearance	dull gray, silver; with a pale yellow tint
Standard atomic weightAr°(Ca)
	40.078±0.004 40.078±0.004 (abridged)
Calcium in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson Mg ↑ Ca ↓ Sr potassium ← calcium → scandium
Atomic number (Z)	20
Group	group 2 (alkaline earth metals)
Period	period 4
Block	s-block
Electron configuration	[Ar] 4s2
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 8, 2
Physical properties
Phaseat STP	solid
Melting point	1115 K ​(842 °C, ​1548 °F)
Boiling point	1757 K ​(1484 °C, ​2703 °F)
Density (at 20° C)	1.526 g/cm3
when liquid (at m.p.)	1.378 g/cm3
Heat of fusion	8.54 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporisation	154.7 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity	25.929 J/(mol·K)
Vapour pressure P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T (K) 864 956 1071 1227 1443 1755
Atomic properties
Oxidation states	common: +2 +1
Electronegativity	Pauling scale: 1.00
Ionisation energies	1st: 589.8 kJ/mol 2nd: 1145.4 kJ/mol 3rd: 4912.4 kJ/mol (more)
Atomic radius	empirical: 197 pm
Covalent radius	176±10 pm
Van der Waals radius	231 pm
Spectral lines of calcium
Other properties
Natural occurrence	primordial
Crystal structure	​face-centred cubic (fcc) (cF4)
Lattice constant	a = 558.8 pm (at 20 °C)
Thermal expansion	22.27×10−6/K (at 20 °C)
Thermal conductivity	201 W/(m⋅K)
Electrical resistivity	33.6 nΩ⋅m (at 20 °C)
Magnetic ordering	diamagnetic
Molar magnetic susceptibility	+40.0×10−6 cm3/mol
Young's modulus	20 GPa
Shear modulus	7.4 GPa
Bulk modulus	17 GPa
Speed of sound thin rod	3810 m/s (at 20 °C)
Poisson ratio	0.31
Mohs hardness	1.75
Brinell hardness	170–416 MPa
CAS Number	7440-70-2
History
Naming	from the Latin word for lime, calx
Discovery and first isolation	Humphry Davy (1808)
Isotopes of calcium v e
Main isotopes Decay abun­dance half-life(t1/2) mode pro­duct 40Ca 96.9% stable 41Ca trace 9.94×104 y ε 41K 42Ca 0.647% stable 43Ca 0.135% stable 44Ca 2.09% stable 45Ca synth 162.61 d β− 45Sc 46Ca 0.004% stable 47Ca synth 4.536 d β− 47Sc 48Ca 0.187% 5.6×1019 y β−β− 48Ti
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Some calcium compounds were known to the ancients, though their chemistry was unknown until the seventeenth century. Pure calcium was isolated in 1808 via electrolysis of its oxide by Humphry Davy, who named the element. Calcium compounds are widely used in many industries: in foods and pharmaceuticals for calcium supplementation, in the paper industry as bleaches, as components in cement and electrical insulators, and in the manufacture of soaps. On the other hand, the metal in pure form has few applications due to its high reactivity; still, in small quantities it is often used as an alloying component in steelmaking, and sometimes, as a calcium–lead alloy, in making automotive batteries.

Calcium is the most abundant metal and the fifth-most abundant element in the human body. As electrolytes, calcium ions (Ca²⁺) play a vital role in the physiological and biochemical processes of organisms and cells: in signal transduction pathways where they act as a second messenger; in neurotransmitter release from neurons; in contraction of all muscle cell types; as cofactors in many enzymes; and in fertilization. Calcium ions outside cells are important for maintaining the potential difference across excitable cell membranes, protein synthesis, and bone formation.