118 Elements Symbols And Their Atomic Numbers Periodic Table

118 Elements And Their Symbols and Atomic Numbers

We all are fond of watching international cricket games. Have you ever seen the scoreboard? It usually looks like this.

Here, we can observe a lot of short forms such as b,w, wd, nb,b, lb and all these actually stand for bowled, wicket, wide,no-ball, bye, and leg-bye respectively. These short forms are used to present all the data of that particular match on the scoreboard.

Similarly, we also use symbols for chemical elements to arrange all elements with their atomic number and atomic weight in the periodic table. Let’s see why and how elements are symbolized

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Need of Assigning Symbols to Chemical Elements
• Methodology of Giving Symbols
• Atomic Number
• IUPAC Nomenclature of Elements with Atomic Number Greater Than 100
• List of Elements and Their Symbols
• Practice Problems
• Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ

Need of assigning symbols to chemical elements

The periodic table of elements which is widely used in the field of Chemistry is used to quickly refer some important physical parameters of chemical elements as they are arranged in a manner that displays periodic trends of their chemical properties also. However, the Periodic Table generally displays only the symbol of the element and not its entire name.

Imagine a table with elements mentioned with their full name. It would have been a mess, just the same way any chemical reaction is written with a full name instead of its corresponding symbols. It is handy and simpler to use symbols rather than full names

Chemical elements are denoted by symbols, which often include one or two characters. Some symbols are labelled briefly using three letters and typically represent new elements having atomic number greater than 100. A chemical symbol also called an element symbol, is a letter or pair of letters used to represent a chemical element. The chemical symbol for an element is used when writing the chemical formula for a molecule, or when writing a chemical equation because it is shorter and easier.

Methodology of Giving Symbols

The Periodic Table of elements is broadly used in the field of Chemistry to get an idea of chemical elements which are arranged in a way that shows periodic trends in the chemical properties of the elements. However, the periodic table usually displays just the symbol of the element and not its complete name.

Elements symbols have been derived from many sources. Some are directly from the English name, some from their Latin roots, etc. We shall see such different sourcing of symbols now.

1. From their English Name

The majority of elements are represented by symbols based on their English names. A chemical symbol is a one- or two-letter element designation. O for oxygen, and Zn for zinc are some examples of chemical symbols. A symbol's first letter is always capitalised. If there are two letters in the symbol, the second letter is lowercase.

2. From their Latin Name

There are some symbols of elements that have Latin roots. An example of it is silver which is denoted by Ag which is derived from its Latin name "Argentum". Another such example would be the symbol 'Fe' which is used to represent iron and can be related to the Latin word for iron, "Ferrum".

3. From the country of discovery

Elements like Americium, Germanium, Europium, and Francium, are named after their place of discovery.

4. In the name of Planets and Stars

Some elements got their names from the names of planets or stars too. Look at the elements Mercury, Neptunium, Uranium, Plutonium, Helium.

.

5. In the Name of the Discoverer of the Elemen or in honour of a scientist.

Some elements were named after the famous scientist, like,

Bohrium, Curium, Einsteinium, Mendelevium and Rutherfordium

6. Elements are also named based on their behaviour!

Hydrogen got its name because it forms water.

Rubidium is named so due to its deep red colour.

Due to the faint glow in the air, phosphorus got its name.

Atomic Number

Knowing the precise composition of elements is necessary to comprehend the concepts of atomic number and valency. A single sort of atom makes up an element. The smallest indivisible unit of matter is an atom. It is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. A positive charge characterises protons. Since neutrons are neutral, they are free of charge. The nucleus is surrounded by negatively charged electrons.

The atomic mass of an element is calculated as the sum of its protons and neutrons. The quantity of electrons orbiting an element's nucleus determines its chemical characteristics.

The total number of protons in an atom's nucleus is its atomic number. The letter Z is used to represent it. The atomic number, or fixed number of protons in an atom, is used to identify an element. The atomic number is hence distinct for each element. For this reason, understanding atomic numbers is crucial to comprehending the chemistry of elements.

IUPAC Nomenclature of Elements with Atomic Number Greater Than 100

Following rule should be remembered for the IUPAC nomenclature of an element with an atomic number greater than 100.

1. The name of the element is directly derived from the atomic number by using following numerical roots:

0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
nil (n)	un (u)	bi (b)	tri (t)	quad (q)	pent (p)	hex (h)	sept (s)	oct (o)	enn (e)

2. Element symbols can be written by initial letters of numerical roots.
3. As per the atomic number, IUPAC Name can be derived by adding word roots and ending by ‘ium’.

Atomic Number	Name of the element	Symbol of element
101	Unnilunium	Unu
102	Ununbium	Unb
103	Unniltrium	Unt
104	Unnilquadium	Unq
105	Unnilpentium	Unp
106	Unnilhexium	Unh
107	Ununseptium	Uns
108	Unniloctium	Uno
109	Unnilennium	Une
110	Ununnilium	Uun

List of Elements, Their Atomic Number and Their Symbols

The complete list of elements in the periodic table is given below -

Symbol of the Element	Atomic Number	Name of the Element
H	1	Hydrogen
He	2	Helium
Li	3	Lithium
Be	4	Beryllium
B	5	Boron
C	6	Carbon
N	7	Nitrogen
O	8	Oxygen
F	9	Fluorine
Ne	10	Neon
Na	11	Sodium
Mg	12	Magnesium
Al	13	Aluminium
Si	14	Silicon
P	15	Phosphorus
S	16	Sulphur
Cl	17	Chlorine
Ar	18	Argon
K	19	Potassium
Ca	20	Calcium
Sc	21	Scandium
Ti	22	Titanium
V	23	Vanadium
Cr	24	Chromium
Mn	25	Manganese
Fe	26	Iron
Co	27	Cobalt
Ni	28	Nickel
Cu	29	Copper
Zn	30	Zinc
Ga	31	Gallium
Ge	32	Germanium
As	33	Arsenic
Se	34	Selenium
Br	35	Bromine
Kr	36	Krypton
Rb	37	Rubidium
Sr	38	Strontium
Y	39	Yttrium
Zr	40	Zirconium
Nb	41	Niobium
Mo	42	Molybdenum
Tc	43	Technetium
Ru	44	Ruthenium
Rh	45	Rhodium
Pd	46	Palladium
Ag	47	Silver
Cd	48	Cadmium
In	49	Indium
Sn	50	Tin
Sb	51	Antimony
Te	52	Tellurium
I	53	Iodine
Xe	54	Xenon
Cs	55	Cesium
Ba	56	Barium
La	57	Lanthanum
Ce	58	Cerium
Pr	59	Praseodymium
Nd	60	Neodymium
Pm	61	Promethium
Sm	62	Samarium
Eu	63	Europium
Gd	64	Gadolinium
Tb	65	Terbium
Dy	66	Dysprosium
Ho	67	Holmium
Er	68	Erbium
Tm	69	Thulium
Yb	70	Ytterbium
Lu	71	Lutetium
Hf	72	Hafnium
Ta	73	Tantalum
W	74	Tungsten
Re	75	Rhenium
Os	76	Osmium
Ir	77	Iridium
Pt	78	Platinum
Au	79	Gold
Hg	80	Mercury
Tl	18	Thallium
Pb	82	Leas
Bi	83	Bismuth
Po	84	Polonium
At	85	Astatine
Rn	86	Radon
Fr	87	Francium
Ra	88	Radium
Ac	89	Actinium
Th	90	Thorium
Pa	91	Protactinium
U	92	Uranium
Np	93	Neptunium
Pu	94	Plutonium
Am	95	Americium
Cm	96	Curium
Bk	97	Berkelium
Cf	98	Californium
Es	99	Einsteinium
Fm	100	Fermium
Md	101	Mendelevium
No	102	Nobelium
Lr	103	Lawrencium
Rf	104	Rutherfordium
Db	105	Dubnium
Sg	106	Seaborgium
Bh	107	Bohrium
Hs	108	Hassium
Mt	109	Meitnerium
Ds	110	Darmstadtium
Rg	111	Roentgenium
Cn	112	Copernicium
Nh	113	Nihonium
Fl	114	Flerovium
Mc	115	Moscovium
Lv	116	Livermorium
Ts	117	Tennessine
Og	118	Oganesson

Practice Problems

Q1. What is the symbol of the element Sodium?

1. S
2. Sd
3. Na
4. Nd

Answer: (C)

Solution: The chemical abbreviation for sodium was first published in 1814 by Jöns Jakob Berzelius in his system of atomic symbols, and is an abbreviation of the element's New Latin name Natrium, which refers to the Egyptian natron, a natural mineral salt mainly consisting of hydrated sodium carbonate.

Q2. The period number of any element corresponds to its highest:

1. Azimuthal Quantum number
2. Principal Quantum Number
3. Magnetic Quantum Number
4. Spin Quantum Number

B.

Principal quantum number corresponds to the number of shells of an atom and it is represented by n and the highest value for an element corresponds to the period number of an element.

Q3. How many elements does the shortest period consist of?

1. 2
2. 4
3. 8
4. 6

Answer: A.

Shortest period is the first period having two elements i.e., Hydrogen and Helium.

Q4. How are the elements in the periodic table arranged?

1. Increasing electronegativity
2. Increasing atomic number
3. Increasing order of density
4. Increasing order of the number of neutrons

Answer B

Increasing atomic number forms the basis of the modern periodic table.

Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs

Q1. Who gave the modern periodic law? Answer: In 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev and Lothar Meyer established the periodic law independently, but both defined periodicity in terms of atomic mass. It was Moseley, who observed regularities in the characteristic X-ray spectra of the elements when their frequencies were plotted against their respective atomic number. So the modifications done in the periodic law in modern times (i.e, the physical and chemical properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic numbers) can well be attributed to Moseley.

Q2. How do periodic trends relate to periodic law? Answer: Periodic trends give similar patterns in the periodic table showing us the various aspects of an element such as electronegativity, atomic radius, or ionising power. The periodic law tells us that when grouped by atomic number, certain properties of elements occur periodically.

Q3. What is an atomic number? Answer: The atomic number of an element is equivalent to the total number of protons in the nucleus of the atoms of that element.

Q4. Why silver is symbolized as Ag? Answer: Silver's element symbol Ag, is from the Latin word Argentum meaning silver.

Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dq-gKOKXQ