An element is a substance which cannot be broken up into two or more simpler substances by the usual chemical methods of applying heat, light or electric energy. There are 118 elements known at present, out of which 92 elements occur in nature, while remaining 26 elements have been prepared artificially except one. Elements may be found in all the three forms as solid, liquid or gas.
Solid : Sodium (Na), carbon (C), aluminium (Al) etc.
Liquid : Mercury (Hg), bromine (Br) etc.
Gas : Oxygen (`O_2` ), hydrogen ( `H_2`) etc.
Elements are divided in the following forms :
(i) Metals : The elements which have a tendency to form positive ions by loss of electrons are called metals, e.g, silver, tin, zinc etc.
(a) They have lustre, ductility, malleability, conductivity etc.
(b) All metals except mercury exists as solid at room temperature.
(c) Oxides of metals are basic or amphoteric in nature.
(d)Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the earth's crust.
(ii) Non-metals : The elements which have a tendency to form negative ion by gain of electrons are called non-metals. e. g. hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur etc. They are in solid or gaseous state under normal conditions except bromine which exits as liquid. There oxides are netural (in low oxidation state) or acidic (in higher oxidation state) in nature.
(iii) Metalloids : They are the elements whose properties fall between those of metals and non-metals. e.g, boron (B), silicon (Si) germanium (Ge), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), tellurium (Te) and polonium (Po) etc.
Symbols Derived from Latin Name of the Elements
English name of the element | Latin name of the element | Symbol |
---|---|---|
Copper | Cuprum | Cu |
Gold | Aurum | Au |
Iron | Ferrum | Fe |
Lead | Plumbum | Pb |
Mercury | Hydrargyrum | Hg |
Potassium | Kalium | K |
silver | Argentum | Ag |
Sodium | Natrium | Na |
Tin | Stannium | Sn |
Tungsten | Woltram | W |