Element
A pure substance that cannot be broken down to any
simpler substances by a chemical process; that is, made up of only one
type of atom
Examples:
Hydrogen, Oxygen
Chemical Symbols
One- or two-letter abbreviations for the names of
the elements.
Only the first letter is capitalized.
Second letter is always lowercase.
Examples:
H hydrogen, O oxygen, He helium
Li lithium, P phosphorus
Some elements were known to ancients by other names.
Examples:
| element |
symbol |
Latin name |
sodium
potassium
iron
copper
silver
tin
antimony
gold
mercury
lead |
Na
K
Fe
Cu
Ag
Sn
Sb
Au
Hg
Pb |
natrium
kalium
ferrum
cuprum
argentum
stannum
stibium
aurum
hydrargyrum
plumbum |
What are elements and how are
they represented?
Practice Problems
Answer the following questions: |
|
| 1. |
What are the chemical symbols for the following
elements? |
|
.
| a) carbon |
b) nitrogen |
c) chlorine |
d) copper |
| . |
|
|
|
| e) silicon |
f) sulfur |
g) silver |
h) mercury |
| . |
|
|
|
| i) lead |
j) oxygen |
k) helium |
l) xenon |
| . |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2. |
What are the elements represented by the
following chemical symbols? |
|
.
| a) Zn |
b) K |
c) H |
d) Fe |
| . |
|
|
|
| e) Mg |
f) Al |
g) F |
h) Cd |
| . |
|
|
|
| i) Au |
j) As |
k) Sb |
l) Ar |
| . |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 3. |
What are the elements in the following substances? |
|
.
| a) sulfuric acid, H2SO4 |
| . |
| b) calcium carbonate, CaCO3 |
| . |
| c) potassium phosphate, KH2PO4 |
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| Sources: CHEMISTRY - an Introduction to General, Organic, &
Biological Chemistry, Prentice Hall CHEMISTRY, Modern CHEMISTRY,
CHEMISTRY
- the Central Science, and Principles & Applications of CHEMISTRY |
