A symbol is used in place of the full name as this makes the periodic table much easier to read and to scan. Each element has its own unique story as to its name and symbol. Other elements have symbols based on the first letters of their name, Lithium is Li and Gallium is Ga. Iron has the symbol Fe from the Latin word Ferrum. Some elements have symbols based on their old-world names. It is not always the case that the name easily relates to the element. Sometimes we refer to elements using their chemical symbols which are usually 1 to 2 letter long words that abbreviate the name and can be used to quickly identify the element.In the periodic table, each element has a defined name and this is represented by its symbol. Calcium is named after the latin word, Calx meaning lime due to its alkaline properties.īut we don’t always used their names. For example gold has the symbol Au, for Aurum the Latin word for gold. If we look at elements that were discovered much further back time however many of them are named using Latin, an ancient language used in the Roman empire. Bohrium for example, is named after the scientist Niels Bohr to recognize all the work he did on the atomic structure. For example the actinide Americium is named after its discovery location in America, Californium as you may have guessed was named after the state of California. Before this most elements were named after the people who discovered, people who inspired them or where they were discovered. This has only applied in the last 50 years however. But where do these names come from? Currently there is an international organization called IUPAC or the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and they have the task of ensuring that elements are named appropriately. Much like humans we have different features that make us unique, elements have different features such as their properties, the way they react and their names that make them unique and different. Elements all have different names a they are all unique.
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