<P> Silicon is a chemical element with symbol Si and atomic number 14 . It is a hard and brittle crystalline solid with a blue - grey metallic lustre ; and it is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor . It is a member of group 14 in the periodic table : carbon is above it ; and germanium , tin , and lead are below it . It is relatively unreactive . Because of its large chemical affinity for oxygen , it was not until 1823 that Jöns Jakob Berzelius was first able to prepare it and characterize it in pure form . Its melting and boiling points of 1414 ° C and 3265 ° C respectively are the second - highest among all the metalloids and nonmetals , being only surpassed by boron . Silicon is the eighth most common element in the universe by mass , but very rarely occurs as the pure element in the Earth 's crust . It is most widely distributed in dusts , sands , planetoids , and planets as various forms of silicon dioxide ( silica ) or silicates . Over 90 % of the Earth 's crust is composed of silicate minerals , making silicon the second most abundant element in the Earth 's crust ( about 28 % by mass ) after oxygen . </P>
<P> Silicon is a chemical element with symbol Si and atomic number 14 . It is a hard and brittle crystalline solid with a blue - grey metallic lustre ; and it is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor . It is a member of group 14 in the periodic table : carbon is above it ; and germanium , tin , and lead are below it . It is relatively unreactive . Because of its large chemical affinity for oxygen , it was not until 1823 that Jöns Jakob Berzelius was first able to prepare it and characterize it in pure form . Its melting and boiling points of 1414 ° C and 3265 ° C respectively are the second - highest among all the metalloids and nonmetals , being only surpassed by boron . Silicon is the eighth most common element in the universe by mass , but very rarely occurs as the pure element in the Earth 's crust . It is most widely distributed in dusts , sands , planetoids , and planets as various forms of silicon dioxide ( silica ) or silicates . Over 90 % of the Earth 's crust is composed of silicate minerals , making silicon the second most abundant element in the Earth 's crust ( about 28 % by mass ) after oxygen . </P>
what group is silicon ( si ) in
what group is silicon ( si ) in
14
14