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 of the elements.
| Symbol | Name | Date | Origin of Name |
| Ac | 1900 | Greek, aktis = ray | |
| aluminum | 1825 | Latin, alumen = astringent taste | |
| Am | 1944 | country where discovered | |
| antimony | ~1450 | Greek, antimonos = opposed to solitude | |
| Ar | 1894 | Greek, argos = neutral or inactive | |
| arsenic | ~1200 | Greek, arsenicon = valiant or bold | |
| At | 1940 | Greek, astatos = unstable | |
| barium | 1808 | Greek, baryos = heavy | |
| Bk | 1949 | city where discovered in California | |
| beryllium | 1797 | mineral where found - beryl | |
| Bi | ~1450 | German, wismut = white mass | |
| bohrium | 1981 | in honor of Neils Bohr, Danish physicist | |
| boron | 1808 | Arabic, bawraq | |
| Br | 1826 | Greek, bromos = stench | |
| cadmium | 1817 | Latin, cadmia = a zinc ore | |
| Ca | 1808 | Latin, calcis = lime | |
| californium | 1950 | state and university where discovered | |
| C | B.C. | Latin, carbo = coal | |
| cerium | 1804 | asteroid Ceres | |
| Cs | 1860 | Latin, caesius = blue | |
| chlorine | 1808 | Greek, chloros = green gas | |
| Cr | 1797 | Greek, chroma = color | |
| cobalt | 1735 | Greek, cobolos = goblin | |
| Cu | B.C. | Latin, cuprum | |
| curium | 1944 | in honor of Marie and Pierre Curie | |
| Db | 1967 | discovered in Dubna, Russia | |
| Dy | 1886 | Greek, dysprositos = hard to get at | |
| einsteinium | 1952 | in honor of Albert Einstein | |
| Er | 1843 | city, Ytterby, Sweden | |
| europium | 1900 | continent where discovered | |
| Fm | 1953 | in honor of Enrico Fermi | |
| fluorine | 1886 | Latin, fluere = to flow | |
| Fr | 1939 | native country of its discoverer | |
| gadolinium | 1886 | in honor of J. Gadolinium, Finnish chemist | |
| Ga | 1875 | Latin name, Gaul, of France | |
| germanium | 1886 | country, Germany | |
| Au | B.C. | Latin, aurum | |
| hafnium | 1922 | Latin name of Copenhagen, Denmark | |
| Hs | 1984 | relates to Latin name for German state "Hassias" | |
| He | 1895 | Greek, helios = the sun | |
| holmium | 1879 | Stockholm, Sweden, the source of its ore | |
| H | 1766 | Greek, hydro genes = water former | |
| indium | 1863 | color of its main spectral line | |
| I | 1811 | Greek, iodos = violet color | |
| iridium | 1804 | Latin, iridis = rainbow | |
| Fe | B.C. | Latin, ferrum | |
| krypton | 1898 | Greek, kryptos = hidden | |
| La | 1839 | Greek, lanthanein = to be concealed | |
| lead | B.C. | Latin, plumbum | |
| Li | 1817 | Greek, lithos = stone | |
| lawrencium | 1961 | in honor of E. Lawrence, cyclotron inventor | |
| Lu | 1905 | Lutetia, ancient name of Paris | |
| magnesium | 1803 | Latin, magnesia = a place in Asia Minor | |
| Mn | 1774 | Latin, magnes = magnet | |
| Mt | 1982 | in honor of Lise Meitner, Austrian physicist | |
| mendelevium | 1955 | in honor of D. Mendeleev, father of periodic table | |
| Hg | B.C. | Latin, hydragyrum = god and planet | |
| molybdenum | 1782 | Greek, molybdos = lead | |
| Nd | 1885 | Greek, neo = new and didymos = twin | |
| neon | 1898 | Greek, neo = new | |
| Np | 1940 | planet | |
| nickel | 1750 | German, goblin | |
| Nb | 1801 | Niobe, daughter of Tantalus | |
| nitrogen | 1772 | Latin, nitro = native soda and gen = born | |
| No | 1957 | in honor of Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite | |
| osmium | 1804 | Greek, osme = a certain odor | |
| O | 1771 | Greek, oxys = sharp and gen = born | |
| palladium | 1803 | planetoid, Palas, discovered in 1801 | |
| P | 1669 | Greek, phosphoros = light bringer | |
| platinum | 1735 | Spanish, plata = silver | |
| Pu | 1940 | planet | |
| polonium | 1898 | native country of its discoverer | |
| K | 1807 | Latin, kalium | |
| praseodymium | 1885 | Greek, praese = green and didymos = twin | |
| Pm | 1847 | Greek mythology, fire bringer | |
| protactinium | 1917 | Greek, protos = first and actinium | |
| Ra | 1898 | Latin, radius = ray | |
| radon | 1900 | originates from radium | |
| Re | 1924 | Latin name of province in Germany | |
| rhodium | 1804 | Greek, rhodos = rose | |
| Rb | 1860 | Latin, rubidius = red | |
| ruthenium | 1805 | Latin name of Russia | |
| Rf | 1964 | in honor of Lord Rutherford, New Zealand chemist | |
| Sm | 1879 | Samarski, a Russian engineer | |
| scandium | 1879 | Scandanavian peninsula by its discoverer | |
| Sg | 1974 | Glenn Seaborg, American chemist | |
| Se | 1817 | Greek, selene = the moon | |
| silicon | 1823 | Latin, silex = flint | |
| Ag | B.C. | Latin, argentum | |
| sodium | 1807 | Latin, natrium | |
| Sr | 1808 | town of Strontian, Scotland | |
| sulfur | B.C. | Latin, sulphur | |
| Ta | 1802 | Tantalus of Greek mythology | |
| technetium | 1937 | Greek, technetes = artifical | |
| Te | 1782 | Latin, tellus = earth | |
| terbium | 1843 | Ytterby, Sweden | |
| Tl | 1862 | Greek, thallus = a young shoot | |
| thorium | 1819 | Thor of Scandinavian mythology | |
| Tm | 1879 | Latin, thule = most northerly part | |
| tin | B.C. | Latin, stannum | |
| Ti | 1791 | Greek mythology, first sons of earth | |
| tungsten | 1783 | Swedish, heavy stone | |
| Uub (112) | 1996 | temporary systematic IUPAC name | |
| Uuh (116) | 1999 | temporary systematic IUPAC name | |
| Uun (110) | 1994 | temporary systematic IUPAC name | |
| Uuo (118) | 1999 | temporary systematic IUPAC name | |
| Uuq (114) | 1998 | temporary systematic IUPAC name | |
| Uuu (111) | 1994 | temporary systematic IUPAC name | |
| U | 1789 | planet Uranus | |
| vanadium | 1830 | Scandinavian mythology, goddess Vanadis | |
| Xe | 1808 | Greek, xenos = strange | |
| ytterbium | 1905 | Ytterby, Sweden | |
| Y | 1843 | Ytterby, Sweden | |
| zinc | B.C. | German, zink = like tin | |
| Zr | 1824 | Arabian, zerk = a precious stone |
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-Ni-Mn-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? __________ Policeman
__________ To spice __________ Have went (poor grammar)
__________ What torpedoed ships do __________ Well driller's chant
__________ "Get him" __________ 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
Questions? Comments??
Gary Rushin