Interactive Chemistry Worksheets for Students |
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Elements are
For example oxygen gas cannot be broken down into anything simpler so it is called an element.
Water on the other hand can be broken down into the simpler substances, hydrogen and oxygen. Water is not an element.
Elements are the building blocks of matter and combine with one another in chemical reactions to form new substances called compounds. eg. water, H2O
B. SYMBOLS OF ELEMENTS
There are about 90 naturally occurring elements.
Each element is given a name and a symbol. eg. Hydrogen, symbol H and Oxygen, symbol, O
Chemical symbols are used as a means of chemical shorthand for the elements.
eg. The symbol for the element Cobalt is Co and not CO which is chemical formula for carbon monoxide.
eg. The symbol for the element Nobellium is No and not NO which is chemical formula for nitrogen monoxide.
All of the elements that we know and their chemical symbols are listed in the periodic table of the elements.
SYMBOLS FOR ELEMENTS |
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One letter |
Two letters |
Latin |
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Al |
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Au |
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Ar |
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Ag |
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Am |
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B |
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Ba |
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Be |
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Bi |
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Br |
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C |
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Ca |
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Cu |
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Cr |
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Co |
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F |
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Fr |
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Fe |
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N |
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Ni |
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Na |
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Nd |
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P |
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Pt |
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Pb |
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(Plumber’s once used lead piping) |