Humboldt State University ® Department of Chemistry


Chem 109 Supplements:

The Elements of Chemistry 109

(The ordering here is that of level of difficulty in memorization.)

Symbol is the first of the name:

H     hydrogen     B     boron      C     carbon       N     nitrogen
O     oxygen       F     fluorine   P     phosphorus   S     sulfur
V     vanadium     I     iodine     U     uranium


Symbol is the first two letters of the name:

He    helium      Li    lithium     Be    beryllium     Ne    neon
Al    aluminum    Si    silicon     Cl    chlorine      Ar    argon
Ca    calcium     Sc    scandium    Ti    titanium      Co    cobalt
Ni    nickel      Ga    gallium     Ge    germanium     Se    selenium
Br    bromine     Kr    krypton     Mo    molybdenum    In    indium
Xe    xenon       Ba    barium      La    lanthanum     Bi    bismuth
Po    polonium    Ra    radium      Ru    ruthenium     Rh    rhodium    


Symbol is one letter of nonobvious origin:

K     potassium    W     tungsten


Symbol is two letters but not from the start:

Mg   magnesium    Cr   chromium    Mn   manganese     Cu   copper      
Zn   zinc         As   arsenic     Rb   rubidium      Sr   strontium   
Zr   zirconium    Nb   niobium     Tc   technetium    Pd   palladium   
Cd   cadmium      Cs   cesium      Pt   platinum      At   astatine
Fr   francium     Rn   radon       Ac   actinium      Pu   plutonium


Symbol is two letters of Latin name:

Na    sodium      Fe    iron       Ag    silver       Sn    tin
Au    gold        Hg    mercury    Pb    lead




 

© R A Paselk

Last modified 4 June 2001