118 Elements and Their Symbols and Atomic Numbers

The periodic table of chemical elements, commonly called the periodic table, organizes all known chemical elements in rows (called periods) and columns (called groups) according to the increasing atomic number. Scientists use the periodic table to quickly refer to any information about an element, atomic number and its chemical symbol.

Dmitri Mendeleev published his first version of the periodic table in 1869. Since then the periodic table has evolved over 150 years. Today's periodic table is filled with 118 known elements.

Elements symbols are derived from many sources. Some are directly from their English name, some from their latin roots. Z for Zinc is an example for symbols from their direct english name. Silver is denoted by the symbol Ag from its latin name origin “Argentum”. 

Some elements get their name from the place they were found (eg: Germanium, Europium) and named after stars or planets eg; Mercury.

What are the Elements?

An element is a basic form of matter that cannot be further broken down into anything simpler. Each element is made up of only one kind of atom.

What is Atomic Number?

An atomic number tells us how many protons are present in the nucleus of an atom of that element. In the periodic table the first element has one proton, the second element has two protons and so on. Here is the list of 118 elements and their symbols and atomic numbers is provided below in table format: