Wednesday, 1 July 2020

Atomic Symbols



J. J. Berzelius introduced the modern system of denoting elements by their symbols.

 

Symbol

The symbol of an element is an abbreviation (short name) for its full name.

OR

The symbol of an element is a shorthand notation for its full name.

 

Significance of a Symbol

The symbol of an element:

Ø  Stands for the name of the element.

Ø  Stands for one atom of the element.

Ø  Represents the quantity of the element equal in mass to its atomic mass.

 

For example; symbol C stands for:

Ø    Element Carbon

Ø    One atom of element carbon

Ø    12 g of element carbon

 

The symbol N stands for:

Ø   Element Nitrogen

Ø   One atom of element nitrogen

Ø   14 g of element nitrogen

 

Modern Atomic Symbols

According to the modern system of atomic symbols,

F  The  first  letter  of  the  Latin  or  Greek  name  of  an  element  is  taken  as  its symbol. Such a letter is written as a CAPITAL letter.

F If more than one element has the same first letter, their symbols consist of two letters – the first letter is followed by another letter which is not common.

F The first letter is written as a capital letter while the second letter as a small letter.

 

For example, the symbol of Hydrogen is H and that of Helium is He.

The symbol of Calcium is Ca and that of Copper is Cu.

 

The common names of some typical elements, their symbols and the source from where these symbols are derived, are given below:

 

 

Atomic Symbols for Some Typical Elements



No comments:

Post a Comment