Inferring Symbols for Elements

Did you ever wonder how the symbols for elements were selected? In this activity we will learn the rules for how they are given.

1)  Mrs. Lee’s body is 60 kg. Most of it (56 kg) is made up of just four elements: hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), carbon (C), and nitrogen (N). The symbols for these elements are in parentheses.

  1. What rule do you think Berzelius used to create these symbols?

RULE 1:

  1. Mrs. Lee’s body contains less than 1 g of the element iodine. Use rule 1 to infer the chemical symbol for iodine. Verify your answer using the periodic table ______

2)  About 2 kg of calcium is distributed between Mrs. Lee’s bones, teeth and blood.

  1. If you used Rule 1 to work out a symbol for calcium, what would the symbol be? ______
  2. What element already has this symbol? ______
  3. Refer to the periodic table to find the actual symbol for calcium. ______
  4. Write the rule that was used to create the symbol for calcium.

RULE 2:

3)  Several element names begin with “b”.

  1. The element boron can be used to make silicon computer chips conduct more electricity. Boron’s symbol is B. Is this symbol based on Rule 1 or Rule 2?
  2. Use rule 2 to determine symbols for:
  3. barium ______
  4. beryllium ______
  5. bismuth ______
  6. bromine ______
  7. In 1947, chemists in Berkeley, California manufactured a new element and named it berkelium. Use page 564 to find the symbol for berkelium. ______
  8. What rule was used to create the symbol for berkelium?

RULE 3:

4)  The seven metals known to the ancients were called by their Latin names: argentum for silver, aurum for gold, cuprum for copper, ferrum for iron, hydrargyrum for mercury, plumbum for lead, and stannum for tin.

  1. Use the periodic table to learn the symbols for these elements and write them down.
  1. What metal was probably used for water pipes in ancient times? Explain how its name helped you make your answer.

5)  The thin wire in a light bulb is made of an element with two official names. Most of the world knows it as tungsten, but it is called wolfram in its country of discovery. Refer to page 566 for its symbol. ______. What name was used to create it? ______

Making connections:

1.  Using your 3 naming rules. Provide appropriate symbols for the following names, based on the order listed:

John, Joanne, Jamie, Janet, Justin, Jeremy, Janine, Jeffery, Julie