What is a chemical symbol?

All chemical substances are made up of atoms or ions of different chemical elements , and using their names every time you want to refer to them can be tedious. For this reason, since chemistry existed as a discipline (and even before), abbreviated ways of representing the elements have been used, as well as other substances and other terms on paper.

What are chemical symbols?

In its most common usage, a chemical symbol is a shorthand way of representing elements on the periodic table . It consists of a notation of one to three letters that uniquely represents each chemical element, in order to avoid having to use its full name. The symbols of all known elements are found on the periodic table.

Characteristics of the chemical symbol

In the case of all already discovered and known elements, the symbol is made up of only one or two letters. These letters consist of the initial or the first two letters of each element’s name in Latin, as suggested by the Swedish scientist JJ Berzelius in 1813, to avoid confusion among scientists of different nationalities.

Many of the names in Spanish have the same roots as the names in Latin, so the chemical symbol of many elements coincides with the initial letters of the elements in this language, which makes them easier to remember.

On the other hand, in the case of elements that have not yet been synthesized or that were only recently discovered, a generic systematic name and a temporary three-letter chemical symbol that are directly related to their atomic number are used. Once its synthesis or discovery is confirmed, both the name and the chemical symbol are replaced by the definitive names.

For example, before it was first synthesized, the last noble gas, and currently the last element on the periodic table, used to be called Ununoctium, which literally means element 118 (Un=1, un=1, oct=8), and bore the chemical symbol Uuo. After its discovery, it was named Oganeson, and assigned the final two-letter chemical symbol Og.

Examples of chemical symbols

• Ag is the chemical symbol for silver , since its Latin name is Argentum and Ar was already assigned to argon.
• Au is the chemical symbol for gold, as it is called Aurum in Latin .
• Fe is the symbol for iron , which in Latin is called Ferrum (F was not used as it was already assigned to the element fluorine)
• K is the chemical symbol for potassium since it is called Kalium in Latin.
• Na comes from Natrium , the Latin name for sodium .
• Rg is the symbol for Roentgenium . This element is synthetic and used to be called Unununio , symbol Uuu , due to its being element number 111.
• The chemical symbol for mercury is Hg , because its Latin name is hydragyrum which means liquid silver.

Other chemical symbols

In addition to using abbreviated symbols for elements, chemists also use them to represent other frequently used terms, which can also be thought of as chemical symbols. Some examples are:

• –Ph or –φ is used to represent the phenyl radical (–C ₆ H ₅ ).
• Et is a symbol representing the ethyl radical .
• Met is a symbol representing the methyl radical .
• EtOH is a symbol that represents ethanol .
• MetOH is a symbol that stands for methanol .
• IPA stands for isopropyl alcohol .
• t-ButOH represents tert-butanol .

References

Chang, R., & Goldsby, K. (2013). Chemistry (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill Interamericana de España SL

Definition of. (n.d.). Definition of chemical symbol — Definition.de . https://definicion.de/simbolo-quimico/

EcuRed. (n.d.). Chemical symbol – EcuRed . https://www.ecured.cu/S%C3%ADmbolo_qu%C3%ADmico

Leal, João P. (2013). «The Forgotten Names of Chemical Elements». Foundations of Science . 19:175–183. doi: 10.1007/s10699-013-9326-y

Chemical symbol – What it is, Definition and Concept. (2019, September 25). Online Encyclopedia. https://enciclopediaonline.com/en/chemical-symbol/

Syvum. (2021). Elements and Chemical Symbols – Latin Names. Retrieved June 16, 2021, from https://www.syvum.com/cgi/online/serve.cgi/squizzes/chem/periodic1b.htm

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2021). Chemical symbol. Retrieved June 16, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/science/chemical-symbol