JEE Main 2025 Jan 23 Shift 2, Chemistry Q15: Group 14 Elements: The Carbon Family

Melting points across group 14 do not fall monotonically. Carbon and silicon are giant covalent solids with very high melting points; germanium is similar but lower. Tin and lead are metallic, and the trend bottoms out at tin before rising slightly at lead.

Approximate values: C ($Z=6$) $\approx 3730{}^{\circ }$C, Si ($Z=14$) $\approx 1410{}^{\circ }$C, Ge ($Z=32$) $\approx 937{}^{\circ }$C, Sn ($Z=50$) $\approx 232{}^{\circ }$C, Pb ($Z=82$) $\approx 327{}^{\circ }$C.

$\therefore$ Tin, with $Z=50$, has the lowest melting point.