OBJECTIVE: To learn the symbols of some elements.
We often use abbreviations to simplify the written word. For example, it is much easier to put MA on an envelope than to write out Massachusetts, and we often write USA instead of United States of America. Likewise, chemists have invented a set of abbreviations or element symbols for the chemical elements. These symbols usually consist of the first letter or the first two letters of the element names. The first letter is always capitalized, and the second is not.
Examples include:
fluorine F
neon Ne
silicon Si
carbon C
oxygen O
fluorine F
neon Ne
silicon Si
carbon C
oxygen O
Sometimes, however, the two letters used are not the first two letters in the name.
For example: zinc Zn cadmium Cd chlorine Cl platinum Pt The symbols for some other elements are based on the original Latin or Greek name. Current Name Original Name Original Name Symbol gold aurum Au lead plumbum Pb sodium natrium Na iron ferrum Fe |