The Periodic Table of Elements
Elements
The periodic table of elements is a way of sorting and showing the elements of chemistry. The system and setup of the periodic table, we will discuss later. For right now, we are just going to talk about elements. Everything on this planet (and we think the universe) is made up of different combinations of what we call the 118 primary elements. Elements are the simplest forms of matter that cannot be divided any smaller. Some of the things we deal with on a day to day basis are elements, like aluminum foil, copper wire, helium gas. Most other things are made up of combinations of different elements. For instance, water is a combination of two hydrogen and 1 oxygen. We can make other compounds with hydrogen and oxygen, like hydrogen peroxide (2 H and 2 O). By putting these basic building blocks in different combinations, we get all the different things there are in this universe. Some elements are more common (like nitrogen, carbon and sodium), while others are more scarce (like gold, neon and platinum). But all things on this planet are made up of different combinations of these elements.
Because we are dealing with these different combinations, it is necessary to have some knowledge of some of these elements. We will not use all of them, but some of them are very common in the things we will use. Therefore, here is a list of some of the more commonly used elements in chemistry:
The periodic table of elements is a way of sorting and showing the elements of chemistry. The system and setup of the periodic table, we will discuss later. For right now, we are just going to talk about elements. Everything on this planet (and we think the universe) is made up of different combinations of what we call the 118 primary elements. Elements are the simplest forms of matter that cannot be divided any smaller. Some of the things we deal with on a day to day basis are elements, like aluminum foil, copper wire, helium gas. Most other things are made up of combinations of different elements. For instance, water is a combination of two hydrogen and 1 oxygen. We can make other compounds with hydrogen and oxygen, like hydrogen peroxide (2 H and 2 O). By putting these basic building blocks in different combinations, we get all the different things there are in this universe. Some elements are more common (like nitrogen, carbon and sodium), while others are more scarce (like gold, neon and platinum). But all things on this planet are made up of different combinations of these elements.
Because we are dealing with these different combinations, it is necessary to have some knowledge of some of these elements. We will not use all of them, but some of them are very common in the things we will use. Therefore, here is a list of some of the more commonly used elements in chemistry:
Names and Symbols
The above list is not an exhaustive list. We will use other elements not on this list. What's important at this point is starting to learn what the symbols stand for. Each element has its own symbol so that we can write formulas that tell how many of each element are in a compound. Therefore, it is advantageous for us to know the symbols for these most important elements.
The above list is not an exhaustive list. We will use other elements not on this list. What's important at this point is starting to learn what the symbols stand for. Each element has its own symbol so that we can write formulas that tell how many of each element are in a compound. Therefore, it is advantageous for us to know the symbols for these most important elements.