Question
Discuss the nomenclature of the element with atomic number greater than 100.
Solution
In 1997, IUPAC recommended the approved official names for elements with atomic numbers 104 to 109. The names for elements with atomic number 110 and beyond have yet to be officially announced. This nomenclature is based on the Latin words for the atomic number of the element.
(i) The names are derived directly from the atomic number using the numerical roots for 0 and numbers 1to 9.
| Digit | Name | Abbreviation |
| 0 | nil | n |
| 1 | un | u |
| 2 | bi | b |
| 3 | tri | t |
| 4 | qued | q |
| 5 | pent | p |
| 6 | hex | h |
| 7 | sept | s |
| 8 | oct | o |
| 9 | enn | e |
(ii) The roots are strung together in the order of digits which make up the atomic number and “ium” is added at the end.
For example let us write the IUPAC name and symbol for the elements having atomic number 112. The roots for 1, 1, 2 are un, un and bi respectively. Hence the name and the symbol respectively are ununbium and Hub.
