HW #1 / Unit 2
Element Names & Symbols – A History of Discovery
The periodic table represents the condensed
story of a major human effort over a long
period of human history. It is filled with the
results that have accumulated due to the
efforts of many people who were curious about
the most basic material makeup of our
universe. These elements represent the basic
building blocks from which all substances are
built. Some of these elements are dated to
B.C. while some were discovered in 1999. It is
now time for you to begin to learn about the
identities of these building blocks. We will start
with the names and symbols. Fill in the missing
symbol/name of the element. The date of
discovery and the origin of the name are
included for your information. You will only be
responsible for the names and symbols of the
40 most common/important elements that are
listed on a separate handout, but here you will
see the names and symbols for all??? (it’s
always changing!) of the elements.
Symbol
Ac
Name
aluminum
Am
antimony
Ar
arsenic
At
barium
Bk
beryllium
Bi
bohrium
boron
Br
cadmium
Ca
californium
C
cerium
Cs
chlorine
Cr
cobalt
Cu
Date
1900
1825
1944
~1450
1894
~1200
1940
1808
1949
1797
~1450
1981
1808
1826
1817
1808
1950
B.C.
1804
1860
1808
1797
1735
B.C.
Chemistry I
Origin of Name
Greek, aktis = ray
Latin, alumen = astringent taste
country where discovered
Greek, antimonos = opposed to solitude
Greek, argos = neutral or inactive
Greek, arsenicon = valiant or bold
Greek, astatos = unstable
Greek, baryos = heavy
city where discovered in California
mineral where found - beryl
German, wismut = white mass
in honor of Neils Bohr, Danish physicist
Arabic, bawraq
Greek, bromos = stench
Latin, cadmia = a zinc ore
Latin, calcis = lime
state and university where discovered
Latin, carbo = coal
asteroid Ceres
Latin, caesius = blue
Greek, chloros = green gas
Greek, chroma = color
Greek, cobolos = goblin
Latin, cuprum
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W.G. Rushin
1
curium
Db
Dy
einsteinium
Er
europium
Fm
fluorine
Fr
gadolinium
Ga
germanium
Au
hafnium
Hs
He
holmium
H
indium
I
iridium
Fe
krypton
La
lead
Li
lawrencium
Lu
magnesium
Mn
Mt
mendelevium
Hg
molybdenum
Nd
neon
Np
nickel
Nb
nitrogen
No
osmium
O
palladium
P
platinum
Pu
polonium
K
1944
1967
1886
1952
1843
1900
1953
1886
1939
1886
1875
1886
B.C.
1922
1984
1895
1879
1766
1863
1811
1804
B.C.
1898
1839
B.C.
1817
1961
1905
1803
1774
1982
1955
B.C.
1782
1885
1898
1940
1750
1801
1772
1957
1804
1771
1803
1669
1735
1940
1898
1807
Chemistry I
in honor of Marie and Pierre Curie
discovered in Dubna, Russia
Greek, dysprositos = hard to get at
in honor of Albert Einstein
city, Ytterby, Sweden
continent where discovered
in honor of Enrico Fermi
Latin, fluere = to flow
native country of its discoverer
in honor of J. Gadolinium, Finnish chemist
Latin name, Gaul, of France
country, Germany
Latin, aurum
Latin name of Copenhagen, Denmark
relates to Latin name for German state “Hassias”
Greek, helios = the sun
Stockholm, Sweden, the source of its ore
Greek, hydro genes = water former
color of its main spectral line
Greek, iodos = violet color
Latin, iridis = rainbow
Latin, ferrum
Greek, kryptos = hidden
Greek, lanthanein = to be concealed
Latin, plumbum
Greek, lithos = stone
in honor of E. Lawrence, cyclotron inventor
Lutetia, ancient name of Paris
Latin, magnesia = a place in Asia Minor
Latin, magnes = magnet
in honor of Lise Meitner, Austrian physicist
in honor of D. Mendeleev, father of periodic table
Latin, hydragyrum = god and planet
Greek, molybdos = lead
Greek, neo = new and didymos = twin
Greek, neo = new
planet
German, goblin
Niobe, daughter of Tantalus
Latin, nitro = native soda and gen = born
in honor of Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite
Greek, osme = a certain odor
Greek, oxys = sharp and gen = born
planetoid, Palas, discovered in 1801
Greek, phosphoros = light bringer
Spanish, plata = silver
planet
native country of its discoverer
Latin, kalium
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praseodymium 1885
1847
protactinium
1917
Ra
1898
radon
1900
Re
1924
rhodium
1804
Rb
1860
ruthenium
1805
Rf
1964
Sm
1879
scandium
1879
Sg
1974
Se
1817
silicon
1823
Ag
B.C.
sodium
1807
Sr
1808
sulfur
B.C.
Ta
1802
technetium
1937
Te
1782
terbium
1843
Tl
1862
thorium
1819
Tm
1879
tin
B.C.
Ti
1791
tungsten
1783
Uub (112)
1996
Uuh (116)
1999
Uun (110)
1994
Uuo (118)
1999
Uuq (114)
1998
Uuu (111)
1994
U
1789
vanadium
1830
Xe
1808
ytterbium
1905
Y
1843
zinc
B.C.
Zr
1824
Pm
Chemistry I
Greek, praese = green and didymos = twin
Greek mythology, fire bringer
Greek, protos = first and actinium
Latin, radius = ray
originates from radium
Latin name of province in Germany
Greek, rhodos = rose
Latin, rubidius = red
Latin name of Russia
in honor of Lord Rutherford, New Zealand chemist
Samarski, a Russian engineer
Scandanavian peninsula by its discoverer
Glenn Seaborg, American chemist
Greek, selene = the moon
Latin, silex = flint
Latin, argentum
Latin, natrium
town of Strontian, Scotland
Latin, sulphur
Tantalus of Greek mythology
Greek, technetes = artifical
Latin, tellus = earth
Ytterby, Sweden
Greek, thallus = a young shoot
Thor of Scandinavian mythology
Latin, thule = most northerly part
Latin, stannum
Greek mythology, first sons of earth
Swedish, heavy stone
temporary systematic IUPAC name
temporary systematic IUPAC name
temporary systematic IUPAC name
temporary systematic IUPAC name
temporary systematic IUPAC name
temporary systematic IUPAC name
planet Uranus
Scandinavian mythology, goddess Vanadis
Greek, xenos = strange
Ytterby, Sweden
Ytterby, Sweden
German, zink = like tin
Arabian, zerk = a precious stone
Cary Academy
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Fill in the missing element names.
Driving along with a (Fm) ___________ grip on the wheel of his car, a
(Ag) __________ (Hg) ____________ with (Cr) ___________ wheels and (Fe-NiMn-C) _________-belted (Ra) ___________ tires, he was on his way to southern
(Cf) _______________. On the way, he had to pull into a gas station in (Bk)
_________________ where he bought twenty (Ga) ___________s of (Pb) _____free gas for a (Ni) _________. Just as he pulled out of the station, along came a
(Eu) ___________ in his little (Ge) _____________-made car driving on the wrong
side of the (Rh) _________. They crashed! The poor fellow hit his (Ne) _____ the
dash and bit his (W) __________. As he lay there, a (Si) _________ came along
and stole his (Au) ______ watch and left him there to (S) _________. Then, along
came an (As) _________ who set fire to his car. Finally, a good (Sm)
_____________ came along and tried to (He) ________, but, alas, all he could do
was (Ba) __________ in a (Kr) ___________ the hill nearby.
Find the element that fits the phrase.
__________ What are doctors for?
__________ To spice
__________ What torpedoed ships do
__________ "Get him"
__________ Policeman
__________ Have went (poor grammar)
__________ Well driller's chant
__________ Half a dime
__________ To press a shirt
__________ Directed (past tense)
__________ Kitchen work area
__________ Leg joint above the calf
__________ Amusing prisoner
__________ Not fat
__________ Building to store autos
__________ Holmium x 1/2
__________ The Lone Ranger's horse __________ What I do when hungry
__________ What police do to a place if they hear of illegal activity there
__________ Cowboy's call after a good trip on a bronco: "I ________"
__________ Cowboy's call after a bad trip on a bronco: "I'm _______"
__________ What you do to a steak when you barbecue it
__________ "_____ anything, but give them nothing."
__________ Why she wears My Sin perfume
__________ Except science, what all my classes do
__________ What I do is none of your ________ !
__________ Soldier from Troy who only fights after dark
Chemistry I
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