Question
What is the present accepted or IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) system of symbols of elements?
Solution
Many of the symbols are the first one or two letters of the element’s name in English. The first letter of a symbol is always written as a capital letter (upper case) and the second letter as a small letter (lower case). For example, Hydrogen is written as H and Aluminium is written as Al.
Some symbols are formed from the first letter of the name and a letter, appearing later in the name. Examples : Chlorine, Cl and Zinc, Zn.
Some other symbols are taken from the names of elements in Latin, German or Greek. For example, the symbol of iron is Fe from Latin name ferrum.
