118 Elements and Their Symbols

Everything in the universe is composed of basic elements, and at their smallest level, these elements are atoms. There are a total of 118 elements in the modern periodic table out of which 98 are found in nature rest are chemically synthesized in laboratories. An atom of any element is composed of electrons, protons, and neutrons and possesses a different property from the other.

This article is the tabulated view of atomic number (number of protons), atomic mass, and number of neutrons of all 118 elements along with their symbols.

118 Elements and their Symbols and Atomic Numbers

The Tabulated view of all 118 elements and their symbols along with their atomic number, element name, atomic mass, and number of protons and neutrons is described below:

What is a Periodic Table?

Initially, the number of elements was small, and the knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of these elements was also limited, but in the early 19th century the discovery of new elements and growth in the knowledge of physical and chemical properties of elements had become hard for the scholars to remember the behavior and properties of all the elements.

Thus a need for a systematic arrangement of elements was there, where the elements are stacked based on their properties, physical properties such as melting point, boiling point, and chemical properties such as electronegativity, valence electron, etc and thereafter the periodic table was introduced.

A periodic table is a tabular arrangement of chemical elements in the increasing order of the atomic number which is the number of protons in their nucleus. The arrangement of the elements thus formed shows a recurring pattern in their properties known as "periodic laws".

Read More, Periodic Table

118 Elements in Periodic Table

Following illustration represents all 118 elements in periodic table:

Atomic Number

The nucleus of each element consists of a different number of protons and neutrons, the number of protons in each nucleus of each element is found to be unique, so it became the base for arranging the elements in increasing order of their nucleus protons. Number of protons in the nucleus also determines the electronegativity and other factors of the elements.

The number of protons in the nucleus of each element is unique and it is referred as Atomic Number. It is the fundamental property of any element and is denoted by the symbol "Z".

The elements in the periodic table are arranged in the increasing order of their atomic number, for example, H (Hydrogen) has atomic number 1, He (Helium) has atomic number 2, and so on.

Also Check, Atomic Number.

Mass Number

The individual mass of an atom of an element is very minute and also difficult to measure. The mass of an electron is approximately 9.10938356 × 10^-28 g, the mass of the proton is 1.6726219 × 10^-24 g and the mass of neutron is 1.675 × 10^-24 g. Since the mass of an atom is merely and remembering the exact mass was a tough job, so the mass number was introduced which is the total number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus.

The Mass Number of an atom is the total number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus. It is represented by the letter A. The mass number of an atom of an element gives an approximate measure of the total mass of the atom. It is expressed in atomic mass units (u) or unified atomic mass units (AMU).

Where 1 AMU = 1.67377 × 10 ^-24 g

Read More, Mass Number.

Symbols Of Elements

Each element is assigned some unique symbol which is usually an English letter (or two). These symbols are used universally to represent and uniquely identify that particular element and are also used for scientific purposes to represents elements in a clean and concise manner. Thus we can say that,

Symbols of element are shorthand to uniquely identify and represent that element.

The symbols of the elements are widely used to represent the elements in chemical formulas, equations, and other representations of chemical reactions.

How Symbols are Derived?

The symbols of elements are derived from the name of the element in English or another language eg. the symbol of Hydrogen is H, that comes from its name in English. It is important to note that the symbol of an element is usually a capital letter and when it contains two letters, the second letter is smaller letter. However, in cases where the first two letters are already taken, or for historical reasons, the symbol may not directly correspond to the element's name (e.g., Fe for iron comes from its Latin word "ferrum").

Also Check,

• Electrons
• Protons
• Neutrons