Elements and their symbols

Read Sc, Ti, V ... Zn like a chemist

1. Elements and their symbols: from zero

2. One letter, two substances

Co Co

is a metal used to make magnets, but

CO CO

is a gas. How can one letter change so much?

Pick the right answer

Predict: what is

CO CO

A. Cobalt, written in capitals
B. Carbon (C) joined to oxygen (O)
C. A new element called CO

Explanation

CO CO

is carbon (C) joined to oxygen (O). Each capital letter starts a new symbol; in cobalt,

Co Co

, the second letter is small.

3. Elements and symbols

Element

A pure substance made of only one kind of atom. It cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical methods.

One capital letter: C (carbon), V (vanadium).
A capital + a small letter: Co (cobalt), Ti (titanium).
Some come from Latin: Fe (ferrum, iron), Cu (cuprum, copper).

Written	Letters	Means
C	one capital	carbon
Co	a capital + a small letter	cobalt
Fe	from Latin, ferrum	iron
$CO CO$	two capitals: two symbols	carbon + oxygen

Reading symbols

4. The ten elements of Ch.1

Ch.1 is about these ten elements. Tap them in the table, then match the pairs below.

Element table

Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn

Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn (Ch.1 p.5)

Match the pairs

Match each symbol to its element.

5. Element or compound?

Sort into groups

Sort each formula.

$Ni Ni$ $TiO2 TiO X_{2}$ $Co Co$ $CO CO$ $N2 N X_{2}$ $CuO CuO$

Pick the right answer

How many different elements are in

KMnO4 KMnO X_{4}

(potassium permanganate, Ch.1 p.6)?

A. 3
B. 4
C. 6

Explanation

KMnO4 KMnO X_{4}

contains 3 different elements: K, Mn and O. Mn is one symbol (capital M, small n), and the 4 counts oxygen atoms, not elements.

6. Summary

An element is a pure substance made of one kind of atom.
A symbol is one capital letter, or a capital letter + a small letter.
Each capital letter starts a new symbol: $Co Co$ is cobalt, $CO CO$ is carbon + oxygen.

Can you explain why

O2 O X_{2}

is an element but

CO CO

is not?

Reveal

O2 O X_{2}

has one kind of atom, oxygen, so it is an element.

CO CO

has two capitals, C and O: two kinds of atom, carbon and oxygen, so it is a compound, not an element.

Concepts in this lesson