Names and Symbols 
         1 of the Elements 
      At  the  heart  of  learning  to  write  chemical  names  and 
      chemical formulas is the need to know the names and 
      symbols of a fair number of the chemical elements. Your 
      goal is to know and be able to use the names and symbols 
      for the elements whose atomic numbers are 1-38; 46-56; 
      and 78-86. The names must be learned with the correct 
      spelling.  It  is  NOT  necessary  to  memorize  the  atomic 
      numbers or any other information. It is sufficient to have a 
      good idea of the approximate location of the element on 
      the table to speed up finding elements when you need 
      them. 
      You will find a periodic table of the elements with their 
      atomic numbers and masses several pages back. In your 
      chemistry class, you will almost certainly have access to a 
      periodic  table  during  exams  either  on  the  wall  in  the 
      classroom on as a page attached to the exam. 
      Examples: 
        The element oxygen has the symbol O. 
        The element copper has the symbol Cu. 
        The element with the symbol C is carbon. 
        The element with the symbol Ag is silver 
         Nomenclature Tidbits 
         •   There are several element symbols that do not match 
             the name of the element. These element symbols are 
             derived from the original, often Latin or Greek, name of 
             the element. An example is Hg which is derived from 
             hydrargyrum which means watery silver which is very 
             descriptive of the silvery liquid metal mercury. 
          
         •   Many elements are named in honor of people or places 
             which are proper nouns. Even though proper nouns 
             should  be  capitalized,  the  element  names  are  NOT 
             capitalized.  For  example,  seaborgium,  berkelium, 
             californium, and americium are named after Glenn T. 
             Seaborg,       Berkeley,       California,       and      America, 
             respectively, because Seaborg co-discovered the latter 
             three elements while serving as faculty at the University 
             of California, Berkeley in America. 
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
               Practice Questions: 
                1.  What is the symbol for the element potassium? 
                         
                        A) P          B) Po          C) K           D) Pm 
                2.  The element sodium has the symbol __________. 
                3.  What is the name of the element with the symbol S? 
                         
                        A) sodium                    B) sulfur 
                         
                        C) selenium                  D) strontium 
                4.  The element with the symbol Fe is __________. 
                
                
                
                
        Solutions: 
         1.  What is the symbol for the element potassium? 
                 
                A) P           B) Po          C) K          D) Pm 
                 
             Watch out for trap answers like (A) which look good 
             at first glance. 
         2.  The element sodium has the symbol Na. 
              
             Be sure to take your time so you don’t accidently go 
             with thoughtless answers like “S” or “So”. 
         3.  What is the name of the element with the symbol S? 
                 
                A) sodium                     B) sulfur 
                 
                C) selenium                   D) strontium 
         4.  The element with the symbol Fe is iron. 
              
             Note  that  capitalized  as  “Iron”  is  NOT  correct  as 
             element names are not capitalized.