Resources: A periodic table.
Core Handout: A series of questions related to the periodic table of elements. The students are to identify selected chemical symbols and elements and determine how many atoms are in selected compounds.
The students should have a basic understanding of the periodic table, including the different elements and their properties. They should also be familiar with chemical reactions, including the concept of reactants and products.
What is the difference between a chemical symbol and a chemical formula?
Ask students if they know the difference. Ask for ideas and suggestions. Complete definitions of the two different ideas.
A chemical symbol is a combination of one or two letters representing a chemical element. A chemical formula is a set of chemical symbols showing the elements present in a compound and the number of them.
Use the presentation slides to explain symbols and formulae. You may want to stop and carry out handout activities and appropriate parts; alternatively, complete all the slides and then all the activities on the handout.
Career Film: Take a tour around the offices of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) in Cumbria to find out about Sophie Abrahams’ job. Sophie works as an Environment Officer for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
Expert Film: This is Sophie Abrahams. Sophie works as an Environment Officer for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Listen to Sophie as she talks about chemical formulae and their symbols.
The students should complete the periodic table task on the handout. The first questions will ask them to find the symbols for a few of the elements on the periodic table. They will then be asked to find the name of an element after seeing the symbols.
The final part of the handout will ask the students to identify the different elements within a compound and to try and identify how many atoms of each element there is. They should then be asked to use the chemical symbols to see if they can make words, or even a sentence. This website has a list of possible words
https://sciencenotes.org/list-words-made-periodic-table-element-symbols/
Support: The handout contains a list of the symbols in alphabetical order which will make them easier to find.
Challenge: Tasks on worksheet
- Write formula of some compounds from their names
- longest word from element symbols.
Ask the students to complete a quick quiz on symbols of element to see which ones they can remember.
Elements are materials that are made up from the same type of atom. No matter how many atoms make up the material, whether it is 1 or 100, there will only every be atoms of that specific element present if the element is pure. Each element is represented by a different atomic symbol, all of which can be found on the period table. The periodic table is an internationally recognised system which is used throughout the world; using a single system allows scientists to communicate their ideas in a universal language. Jakob Berzelius created this naming system way back in 1817 to represent all the elements with their own symbols.
Some of the symbols within the periodic table are not the first letters of the name of the element. Some of the first elements that were discovered, such as sulfur and oxygen were given the symbol that is the first letter of their name. As more elements were discovered and named, this was not possible. Some elements, such as Aluminium, have two letters in their symbol. Al. The lower case l symbolises that it is part of a symbol with the capital A. Some elements were given symbols that were connected to the element somehow; Lead has the symbol Pb which derives from the Latin name for lead, Plumbum.