Question

A symbol is a short form used for representing an________.

Answer 1

Symbols:

1. When the first elements were found, it was also necessary to list them all in a periodic table. The names had to be brief and accurately represented the element.
2. A symbol for an element is essentially a shorter version of the element's long name. It is usually the first two letters of the name.
3. In addition to the shortened version, these symbols also include the mass number, which is equal to the number of neutrons and protons, and the number of protons, which is equal to the number of electrons.
4. There is only one and only one symbol for a single atom of an element.
5. It also indicates how many atoms there are in one gram of an atom.
6. Example: Neon is represented as ${}^{20}\mathrm{Ne}_{10}$ where $10$ represents its atomic number and $20$ represents its mass.

Therefore, a symbol is a short form used for representing an element.