Periodic table of elements!!!?

Question

Why does symbol of other elements in the periodic table do not relate to their name?

Ex:

Gold - Au
Mercury - Hg
Iron - Fe
Potassium - K, etc.

How did they get there corresponding symbols?

Answer 1

They are derived from the latin names of the compounds,
Gold (Au) is derived from Aurum
Mercury (Hg) is derived from hydrargyrum
Iron (Fe) is derived from Ferrum
Potassium (K) is derived from Kalium
Copper (Cu) is derived from Cuprum
Lead (Pb) is derived from Plumbum
Silver (Ag) is derived from Argentum
Sodium (Na) is derived from Natrium
Tungsten (W) is derived from German name Wolfram
Tin (Sn) is derived from Stannum
And finally Antimony (Sb) is derived from Stibium
Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Most of the element symbols DO relatie to their names - its just that they were named in a different language. Many of the older elements were originally named in latin so their symbols come from their latin names - like gold, silver, mercury, lead, etc.

The person who first discovers or makes the element gets the right to name the element. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists (IUPAC) makes the final decision gets to make the official decision especially if there is a dispute over who first made the element. That's why you see funny symbols like "Uun" on modern periodic charts - the IUPAC hasn't made their final decision yet but the element has been made. That's why it is important to use the most up-to-date chart you can find if you are interested in these newer elements.

Answer 3

It usually depend from where and by who it got discovered or sometime because there's already another symbol used by another element.
Iron is Fe for Fer which is the French for Iron.
Silver = Ag for Argent which is the French for Silver
Mercury = Hg for the Greek hydrargyrum
Gold = Au for the Latin aurum.
Potassium = K for the Latin kalium

Here's a good place to find about the others.
http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/index.html
Just click an element on the table to view it's description and history.

Answer 4

As a bio-chem undergrad. I find that I didn't memorize the first two rows the table on purpose. Memorization of the first two rows come from doing homework problems over and over again. By the time you get thru introductory and general chemistry, you'll at least know the atomic number and mass of H, N, C, and O in the back of your head. Probably even a few other elements such as Cl, Fl, B, S, I, Na, Li, Fe..etc.. But a few of my instructors has mentioned, except for a few mostly used elements, the rest of the periodic table should be used as tools, not memorized.

Answer 5

Mainly foreign names - plus when you have Hydrogen, Helium etc, only one can be "H"


Gold: The symbol Au derives from the Latin aurum for Aurora the Roman goddess of the dawn.

Mercury: From the Roman god Mercury, the messenger of the gods. The symbol derives from the Greek hydragyrium for 'liquid silver' or quick silver

Iron: From the Anglo Saxon iron. The symbol is derived form the Latin ferrum for 'firmness'

Potassium: From the English potash as it was found in caustic potash (KOH). The chemical symbol derives from the Latin kalium via the Arabic qali for alkali

Answer 6

A lot of these names are from some other language, e.g. Latin. We are fortunate that a lot of elements have English abbreviations!

Gold (Sanskrit jval, Greek χρυσος [khrusos], Latin aurum for "shining dawn", Anglo-Saxon gold, Chinese 金 [jīn]) has been known and highly valued since prehistoric times. It may have been the first metal used by humans and was valued for ornamentation and rituals. Egyptian hieroglyphs from as early as 2600 BC describe gold, which king Tushratta of the Mitanni claimed was as "common as dust" in Egypt. Egypt and Nubia had the resources to make them major gold-producing areas for much of history. Gold is also mentioned several times in the Old Testament.

The first signs of use of iron come from the Sumerians and the Egyptians, where around 4000 BC, a few items, such as the tips of spears, daggers and ornaments, were being fashioned from iron recovered from meteorites. Because meteorites fall from the sky some linguists have conjectured that the English word iron (OE īsern), which has cognates in many northern and western European languages, derives from the Etruscan aisar which means "the gods".

Mercury was known to the ancient Chinese and Hindus and was found in Egyptian tombs that date from 1500 BCE. In China, India and Tibet, mercury use was thought to prolong life, heal fractures, and maintain generally good health. The ancient Greeks used mercury in ointments and the Romans used it in cosmetics. By 500 BCE mercury was used to make amalgams with other metals. The Indian word for alchemy is Rassayana which means ‘the way of mercury.’ Alchemists often thought of mercury as the first matter from which all metals were formed. Different metals could be produced by varying the quality and quantity of sulfur contained within the mercury. An ability to transform mercury into any metal resulted from the essentially mercurial quality of all metals. The purest of these was gold, and mercury was required for the transmutation of base (or impure) metals into gold. This was a primary goal of alchemy, either for material or spiritual gain. Hg is the modern chemical symbol for mercury. It comes from hydrargyrum, a Latinized form of the Greek word `Υδραργυρος (hydrargyros), which is a compound word meaning 'water' and 'silver' — since it is liquid, like water, and yet has a silvery metallic sheen. The element was named after the Roman god Mercury, known for speed and mobility. It is associated with the planet Mercury. The astrological symbol for the planet is also one of the alchemical symbols for the metal (above left). Mercury is the only metal for which the alchemical planetary name became the common name.

Potassium was not known in Roman times, and its names are not Classical Latin. The name kalium was taken from the word "alkali", which came from Arabic al qalīy = "the calcined ashes". The name potassium was made from the word "potash", which is English, and originally meant an alkali extracted in a pot from the ash of burnt wood or tree leaves.

Answer 7

Latin Periodic Table

Answer 8

There were three systems of giving symbols to the elements - 1. On the basis of their first two letters 2. On the basis of thier Greek names 3. Ont he basis of their physical characters and stuff like that. May be whoever named them just thought it better to name them that way, or it just cme into a practice? :-)

Answer 9

They do relate in Latin (don't know why it is that way) other than some of the English terms were derived from the Latin counterparts but here are the translations.
Gold - AURUM
Mercury - HYDRARGYRUM
Iron - FERRUM
Potassium - KALIUM

Answer 10

Gold - Au
Mercury - Hg
Iron - Fe
Potassium - K
Sodium - Na
Tungsten - W
Antimony - Sb

that's all I think..