Chemical Symbols Quiz: Places, People and Key Facts

This chemical symbols quiz covers element symbols like Fe, Au, Ag, Na, K, Pb, Hg and Sn and explains why many come from Latin names. Ten questions on places, people and key facts about the shorthand chemists use.

Start Chemical Symbols Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Gold
What is the chemical symbol for gold?
Iron
What is the symbol for iron?
Sodium
What is the symbol for sodium?
Silver
What is the symbol for silver?
Lead
What is the symbol for lead?
Mercury
What is the symbol for mercury?
Potassium
What is the symbol for potassium?
Tin
What is the symbol for tin?
System
Who introduced the modern letter-based chemical symbols?
Tungsten
Why is tungsten's symbol W?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What is the chemical symbol for gold?
Answer: Au
It comes from the Latin aurum.
Q2: What is the symbol for iron?
Answer: Fe
It comes from the Latin ferrum.
Q3: What is the symbol for sodium?
Answer: Na
It comes from the Latin natrium.
Q4: What is the symbol for silver?
Answer: Ag
It comes from the Latin argentum.
Q5: What is the symbol for lead?
Answer: Pb
From plumbum, which also gave us plumber.
Q6: What is the symbol for mercury?
Answer: Hg
From hydrargyrum, meaning liquid silver.
Q7: What is the symbol for potassium?
Answer: K
From the Latin kalium.
Q8: What is the symbol for tin?
Answer: Sn
From the Latin stannum.
Q9: Who introduced the modern letter-based chemical symbols?
Answer: Jöns Jacob Berzelius
He proposed them in 1813.
Q10: Why is tungsten's symbol W?
Answer: From its German name wolfram
Tungsten means heavy stone in Swedish.

Chemical Symbols Quiz – Chemistry's Alphabet

Every element has a symbol of one or two letters, making chemical formulas short and universal. Most symbols come from the element's English name, like H for hydrogen and O for oxygen.

Some symbols come from Latin or other languages because the elements were known long ago. Gold is Au from aurum, silver is Ag from argentum and lead is Pb from plumbum. Tungsten's W comes from the German wolfram.

Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius introduced this system in 1813, replacing older alchemical drawings. Today the symbols are used worldwide, so chemists everywhere can read the same formulas.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is for students learning element symbols.

Which symbols come from Latin
What Au and Ag mean
Why lead is Pb
Who invented the system
Why tungsten is W

Did You Know?

Copper is Cu from cuprum.
Antimony is Sb from stibium.
Alchemists used planet symbols for metals.
New elements get temporary three-letter names.
The letters J and Q appear in no element symbol.