Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Elemental Symbols of Sample Elements
Element
Aluminum
Argon
Barium
Beryllium
Boron
Bromine
Calcium
Carbon
Chlorine
Copper
Symbol
Al
Ar
Ba
Be
B
Br
Ca
C
Cl
Cu
Element
Fluorine
Gold
Hydrogen
Iodine
Iron
Krypton
Lead
Magnesium
Mercury
Neon
Symbol
F
Au
H
I
Fe
Kr
Pb
Mg
Hg
Ne
Element
Nickel
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Radon
Selenium
Silicon
Sodium
Sulfur
Uranium
Zinc
Symbol
Ni
N
O
Rn
Se
Si
Na
S
U
Zr
Figure 3-2a
When the elemental symbol of an element is combined with additional
information, such as the atomic number, mass number, or charge, it is usu-
ally called elemental notation. Elemental notation is a simple way of sum-
marizing a good deal of information in a small space.
Some other examples of elemen-
tal notation are shown here:
Reading the Elemental
Notation
elemental symbol
Examples of Elemental
Notation
mass number
charge
H
2
1
+
5
He
C
Cl
4
2
14
6
35
17
-
8
atomic number
number of atoms
in sample
Figure 3-2b
Figure 3-2c
Not all examples of elemental notation will be written with the same
amount of information. Notice that the first two examples show only two
numbers. The number in the upper-left corner is the mass number, so, for
example, the carbon sample shown is of the isotope called carbon-14, which,
as you may know, is used for radioactive dating. The number in the lower-
left corner is the atomic number. This number is not always given, because
the elemental symbol already tells you the identity of the element, so the
atomic number represents redundant information. If you needed to know
