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The elements which are new are temporarily named according to their atomic numbers. When the symbol representing an element is denoted by one letter only, it is written in uppercase.Įxample: 'N' represents Nitrogen, 'O' represents oxygen, etc. Example: 'Ca' representing Calcium, 'He' representing Helium, etc. The first letter of a symbol is capitalized with the second (or third) letters being in lowercase. Rules or Conventions followed to denote the Element using Symbol The symbol 'Fe' is used to denote Iron, as the Latin word for Iron is "Ferrum". Hence gold is denoted by the symbol ‘Au’. Some symbols of a few elements are derived from their Latin or Greek names. One may ask, ‘How is the symbol of an element derived?’ We can see in the table above that most of the symbols are derived from the elements’ names, by taking either the first or first two letters from the English name of the element. Some symbols have three letters, they generally represent synthesized elements newly, with some being temporarily named like that. Example: Elements in group 1A are soft metals that react violently with water.Ī symbol representing a chemical element is a 'sign' or 'notation' that generally consists of one or two letters. Elements arranged vertically in columns are called ‘Groups’ and elements arranged horizontally in rows are called ‘Periods’.įurther elements are grouped as per periodic trends and properties. Visit Bodycote’s new Interactive Periodic Table to view this information and more graphically.Key Characteristics of the Periodic Table:Įlements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number.Įlements of the Periodic Table are denoted by a unique symbol and not its entire name, as some elements’ names can be long and complex in nature.Įlements are arranged vertically and horizontally. Chemical symbolįrom the Latin Argentum which originally meant shining metalįrom the Latin Aurum which originally meant yellowįrom Cuprum, the Latin name for Cyprus, the Roman source of copperįrom the Latin Hydragyrummeaning liquid silverįrom Natrium, the Latin namefor sodium carbonateįrom the Latin Plumbummeaning soft white metalįrom the Latin Stibiummeaning cosmetic powderįrom Wolfram, an old name for the element derived from its ore, Wolframite Visit Bodycote’s new Interactive Periodic Table to view this information and more graphically.

In those cases, the origin of the symbol used is given. A very few elements have symbols which appear to have no relationship with their names. In some cases, the first letter together with some other letter from their name was used, particularly when their first two letters had already been allocated to another element. Most chemical elements are represented symbolically by two letters, generally the first two in their name. Powdermet® Selective surface net shape (SSNS)Īnti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement Sub-critical annealing / intercritical annealing Specialty Stainless Steel Processes (S 3P) Precipitation hardening: Stainless steels Case hardening with subsequent hardening operationĬase hardening without subsequent hardening operationįluidised bed/salt bath nitriding/nitrocarburising
