ElementsWhat is tennessine?
Tennessine is a radioactive element made in particle accelerators. It is one of the most recently discovered elements.
What is tennessine used for?
Research only.
Where the name comes from
From the state of Tennessee in the United States. The name was approved in 2016.
Key facts
- Symbol
- Ts
- Atomic number
- 117
- Atomic mass
- 294.211 u
- Family
- Halogen
- Period
- 7
- Group
- 17
- Block
- p
- State at room temperature
- Solid (expected)
- Melting point
- not measured
- Boiling point
- not measured
- Density
- not measured
- Electrons per shell
- 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 18, 7
- Electron configuration
- [Rn]7s2 7p5 5f14 6d10
- Common oxidation states
- +5, +3, +1, -1
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- no value
- First ionisation energy
- not measured
- Electron affinity
- no value
- Atomic radius (van der Waals)
- no value
- Discovered
- 2010
Place in the periodic table
Tennessine is element number 117. It sits in period 7 (row 7) of the periodic table, in group 17 (column 17), and belongs to the p-block. Just before it comes livermorium (116), and just after it comes oganesson (118). In the same column, astatine is above it. Elements in one column tend to behave alike.
Family: Halogens.
Physical properties
Too few atoms of tennessine have been made to measure its bulk properties. It is expected to be a solid at room temperature.
Inside the atom
An atom of tennessine has 117 protons in its nucleus and, when neutral, 117 electrons around it. The electrons are arranged in 7 shells: 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 18, 7. The outermost shell holds 7 electrons. Written in full, the electron configuration is [Rn]7s2 7p5 5f14 6d10 (predicted).
One mole of tennessine weighs 294.211 grams, so a single gram contains about 2.05 × 1021 atoms.
The ring picture is a simple model that only counts the electrons in each shell. Real atoms do not look like this.
Next steps
- Work out the weight of a compound that contains tennessine with the molar mass calculator.
- Compare it with every other element in the sortable list.
- Test yourself with the symbol quiz.
Figures on this page are from PubChem (U.S. National Library of Medicine), as downloaded on 11 November 2026. See About and data sources.