STUDY / Chemistry
Periodic table flashcards
Make sense of the symbols and numbers, starting with familiar elements.
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Element symbols
01 / 50What is the chemical symbol for gold?Reveal answerHide answer
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Au. Gold uses Au, from the Latin aurum.
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04 / 50Which element has the symbol Na?Reveal answerHide answer
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Sodium. Na is sodium, from the Latin natrium.
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06 / 50What is the symbol for iron?Reveal answerHide answer
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Fe. Iron has the symbol Fe, from the Latin ferrum.
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07 / 50Which element has the symbol O?Reveal answerHide answer
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Oxygen. O is oxygen. Osmium is Os and oganesson is Og.
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10 / 50What is the symbol for potassium?Reveal answerHide answer
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K. Potassium uses K, from the name kalium.
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11 / 50Which element has the symbol Ag?Reveal answerHide answer
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Silver. Ag comes from the Latin name argentum.
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12 / 50Which element has the symbol Cu?Reveal answerHide answer
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Copper. Copper’s symbol comes from cuprum.
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13 / 50Which element has the symbol Pb?Reveal answerHide answer
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Lead. Pb comes from plumbum, the Latin name for lead.
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14 / 50Which element has the symbol Sn?Reveal answerHide answer
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Tin. Sn comes from stannum, the Latin name for tin.
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15 / 50Which element has the symbol W?Reveal answerHide answer
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Tungsten. The symbol W reflects the alternative name wolfram.
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16 / 50What is the chemical symbol for calcium?Reveal answerHide answer
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Ca. Calcium uses Ca. In a two-letter element symbol the first letter is capitalized and the second is lowercase; C alone is carbon.
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17 / 50Which element has the symbol Mg?Reveal answerHide answer
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Magnesium. Mg is magnesium; manganese uses Mn.
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18 / 50Which element has the symbol Al?Reveal answerHide answer
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Aluminum. Aluminum, also spelled aluminium, has atomic number 13.
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19 / 50Which element has the symbol Si?Reveal answerHide answer
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Silicon. Si is silicon; S is sulfur and Ag is silver. Silicon’s semiconducting properties make it useful in electronic devices.
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20 / 50Which element has the symbol P?Reveal answerHide answer
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Phosphorus. Phosphorus uses P, while potassium uses K.
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21 / 50Which element has the symbol S?Reveal answerHide answer
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Sulfur. Sulfur is a nonmetal with atomic number 16.
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22 / 50Which element has the symbol Cl?Reveal answerHide answer
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Chlorine. Chlorine is a halogen in group 17.
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23 / 50Which element has the symbol N?Reveal answerHide answer
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Nitrogen. N is nitrogen. Nitrogen gas makes up about 78% of dry air, so it is more abundant in the atmosphere than oxygen.
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24 / 50Which element has the symbol Ne?Reveal answerHide answer
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Neon. Neon is a group 18 noble gas. An electrical discharge through neon produces the reddish-orange glow of a true neon sign.
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25 / 50Which element has the symbol Ar?Reveal answerHide answer
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Argon. Ar is argon, a noble gas. Its low reactivity makes it useful as a protective atmosphere where other substances must not react with air.
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26 / 50Which element has the symbol Zn?Reveal answerHide answer
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Zinc. Zinc coatings help protect steel from corrosion.
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27 / 50Which element has the symbol Ni?Reveal answerHide answer
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Nickel. Nickel uses Ni, whereas nitrogen uses N and neon uses Ne. These similar symbols represent different elements.
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28 / 50Which element has the symbol I?Reveal answerHide answer
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Iodine. Iodine is a halogen; iron uses Fe.
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29 / 50Which element has the symbol U?Reveal answerHide answer
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Uranium. Uranium is an actinide with atomic number 92.
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30 / 50Which element has the symbol Pt?Reveal answerHide answer
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Platinum. Platinum is a metal used in catalysts and jewelry.
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Atoms and their numbers
02 / 50Which element has atomic number 1?Reveal answerHide answer
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Hydrogen. Atomic number counts protons. Hydrogen has one proton, so every hydrogen atom has atomic number 1, whatever its isotope or charge.
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03 / 50What does an element’s atomic number count?Reveal answerHide answer
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Protons. An element is defined by its proton count. Changing neutrons produces an isotope; changing electrons produces an ion.
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08 / 50Which element has atomic number 6?Reveal answerHide answer
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Carbon. Carbon has six protons. Its isotopes, including carbon-12 and carbon-14, keep those six protons but differ in neutron count.
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31 / 50Which element has atomic number 2?Reveal answerHide answer
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Helium. Helium has two protons. Its atomic number remains 2 whether the atom is neutral, ionized, or a different isotope.
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32 / 50Which element has atomic number 3?Reveal answerHide answer
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Lithium. Lithium has three protons and is the first metal in group 1. Hydrogen comes above it in the table but is a nonmetal.
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33 / 50Which element has atomic number 8?Reveal answerHide answer
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Oxygen. An oxygen atom has eight protons in its nucleus.
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34 / 50Which element has atomic number 10?Reveal answerHide answer
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Neon. Neon has ten protons and occupies the end of period 2. Its position in group 18 places it among the noble gases.
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35 / 50Which element has atomic number 20?Reveal answerHide answer
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Calcium. Calcium has twenty protons and belongs to group 2. Atomic number is a proton count, not the atom’s total mass.
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44 / 50What is an atom that has gained or lost electrons called?Reveal answerHide answer
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An ion. Losing electrons makes a positive ion; gaining them makes a negative ion. The proton count, and therefore the element’s identity, stays the same.
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45 / 50Isotopes of one element differ in their number of what?Reveal answerHide answer
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Neutrons. Isotopes have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. Carbon-12 and carbon-14 are therefore both carbon.
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46 / 50Which two particles are added to find an atom’s mass number?Reveal answerHide answer
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Protons and neutrons. Mass number is the integer total of protons and neutrons in one nucleus. It differs from the abundance-weighted atomic mass shown on many tables.
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Groups, periods, and properties
05 / 50Which noble gas has the chemical symbol He?Reveal answerHide answer
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Helium. Helium is in group 18. Its filled first electron shell makes it very unreactive, which is characteristic of the noble gases.
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09 / 50Which metal is liquid at about 20°C?Reveal answerHide answer
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Mercury. Mercury melts at about −39°C, so it is liquid at ordinary room temperature.
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36 / 50What are the vertical columns of the periodic table called?Reveal answerHide answer
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Groups. Groups are the vertical columns. Elements in a group often behave similarly because their outer electrons have related arrangements.
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37 / 50What are the horizontal rows of the periodic table called?Reveal answerHide answer
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Periods. Periods run horizontally. Atomic number increases from left to right across each row of the modern periodic table.
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38 / 50What is the usual name for group 17 elements?Reveal answerHide answer
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Halogens. Fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine belong to the halogens.
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39 / 50What is the usual name for group 18 elements?Reveal answerHide answer
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Noble gases. Group 18 contains helium, neon, argon, and the other noble gases. Their filled outer electron shells help explain their generally low reactivity.
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40 / 50What is the name for group 2 metals?Reveal answerHide answer
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Alkaline earth metals. Magnesium and calcium are alkaline earth metals.
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41 / 50Which family includes lithium, sodium, and potassium?Reveal answerHide answer
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Alkali metals. Lithium, sodium, and potassium are group 1 alkali metals. Hydrogen sits above them in the table but is not an alkali metal.
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42 / 50Which part of an atom carries a negative electric charge?Reveal answerHide answer
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An electron. Electrons are negatively charged; protons are positively charged.
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43 / 50Which particle in an atomic nucleus has no electric charge?Reveal answerHide answer
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A neutron. A neutron has no net electric charge. Together with positively charged protons, neutrons make up atomic nuclei other than ordinary hydrogen’s.
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47 / 50Diamond and graphite are forms of which element?Reveal answerHide answer
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Carbon. Diamond and graphite are carbon allotropes: the same element with different atomic structures. Those structures give them very different properties.
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48 / 50Which element is the main component of pencil “lead”?Reveal answerHide answer
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Carbon. Pencil cores use graphite, a form of carbon, mixed with clay.
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49 / 50Which nonmetal is liquid at about 20°C?Reveal answerHide answer
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Bromine. Bromine is liquid at 20°C because this temperature is above its melting point and below its boiling point. Mercury is liquid too, but is a metal.
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50 / 50Which scientist is especially associated with the 1869 periodic table?Reveal answerHide answer
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Dmitri Mendeleev. Mendeleev published his table in 1869, leaving gaps and predicting properties of missing elements. The modern table is ordered by atomic number.