Chemical Symbols

Chemical symbols represent elements. These chemical symbols are obtained by three main procedures.

They are:

They are usually the first letter of the element. Examples are Phosphorous (P), Sulphur (S).

They can also be the first two letters of the element. Examples are Silicon (Si), Calcium (Ca).

They can also be obtained from their Latin names. Latin was the language of the ancient Romans example is Copper which is called Cuprum in Latin. Copper (Cu), Potassium – Kalium (K), Sodium – Natrium (Na).

An element with one letter is capitalized. Elements with two letters have the first letter capitalized. Example is Helium (He).