Chemical Elements Quiz

The periodic table has over 100 elements, but chemists use a shorthand system of symbols to keep things manageable. Some symbols make perfect sense, like O for oxygen, but others like Fe for iron come from ancient Latin and Greek names.

• Element symbols for common metals like gold, silver, and iron
• The difference between a symbol and a full element name
• Why some symbols don't match the English name of the element
• How to recognize symbols from everyday science and chemistry class

Knowing element symbols is a basic building block for reading chemistry. Once you learn them, you can decode formulas like NaCl (table salt) and start making sense of the world around you at a molecular level.

More Quizzes to Try

If you enjoyed this one, keep going with the Periodic Table: First 20 Elements quiz to test your knowledge of the early periodic table. You can also try Sort Metals By Their Primary Property to see how well you know what makes each metal unique, or challenge yourself with Sort Chemicals Into Hazard Categories for a real-world chemistry challenge.