How it works
This periodic table quiz on symbols covers all 118 elements and runs in both directions. In one set you see a symbol such as Na and choose the element from four names. In the other you see the name and choose the symbol. A third, shorter set holds the 11 elements whose symbols come from an older name, such as Fe for iron and Pb for lead.
Read the full guide
Three sets and five number ranges
Question set, above the question, picks the direction. Symbol to name and Name to symbol each hold 118 questions, one per element. The Start from menu, below the question, cuts either set down by atomic number: elements 1 to 20, 21 to 36, 37 to 54, 55 to 86 or 87 to 118. The third set has 33 questions on the 11 symbols that do not match the English name. It asks each one three ways: from the symbol, from the name and from the older word, such as plumbum. Each set keeps its own Missed pile.
Practice, Exam and the Missed pile
In Practice mode a tap on a choice marks the question at once. A note then says where the name or the symbol comes from and what each wrong choice really is. For a timed run, press Exam mode below the question, then Start the exam. It gives up to 20 questions and four minutes and holds the marking back until the end. Then you see your score, a score for each range and every question you missed. There is no pass mark. A missed question waits under Missed, in More options, until you get it right.
Why the wrong choices look right
The wrong choices are the ones people write on paper. Ask for sodium and you are offered So, the first two letters, and S, which is sulfur. Ask for Mg and manganese sits next to magnesium. Copper comes with Co, iron with Ir and potassium with P and Po. Some tempting guesses are not symbols at all, and the note after the answer says so. Twelve symbols begin with C and nine each with N, P, S and T, so most mix-ups happen there.
- Learn the 14 one-letter symbols first: H, B, C, N, O, F, P, S, K, V, Y, I, W and U. Every other symbol is a capital letter followed by one lowercase letter.
- Capital letters carry meaning. Co is cobalt, one element. CO is carbon monoxide, a compound of carbon and oxygen.
- Drill look-alikes side by side: Mg and Mn, Co and Cu, Ra and Rn, and the nine P symbols (P, Pd, Pr, Pm, Pt, Pb, Po, Pa, Pu).
- No symbol contains J or Q. If the answer in your head has either letter, think again.
- Hang the odd symbols on words you know: plumbing for Pb (plumbum), ferrous for Fe (ferrum), Argentina for Ag (argentum).
Questions and answers
Which element symbols do not match the English name?
There are 11. Sodium is Na (natrium), potassium is K (kalium), iron is Fe (ferrum), copper is Cu (cuprum), silver is Ag (argentum), tin is Sn (stannum), antimony is Sb (stibium), tungsten is W (wolfram), gold is Au (aurum), mercury is Hg (hydrargyrum) and lead is Pb (plumbum). Most of the older words are Latin, and wolfram is German. The third set drills only these 11.
Is this a periodic table symbols quiz for all 118 elements or only the common ones?
All 118 are in both large sets, up to nihonium (Nh), moscovium (Mc), tennessine (Ts) and oganesson (Og), whose names IUPAC approved in November 2016. If your class only needs the start of the table, choose Elements 1 to 20 or Elements 21 to 36 in the Start from menu, and the exam draws only from that range: 20 questions or 16.
Does the quiz show a periodic table?
No. A table gives the answer away by position: you know the box under lithium is sodium before you read it. Here a symbol or a name stands alone, the way it appears in a formula. To learn positions, use the periodic table quiz or the shorter first 20 elements quiz, where you find each element on a blank table.
Why does the quiz say aluminum and cesium?
The quiz uses American spelling. IUPAC, which approves element names and symbols, writes aluminium and caesium, and British textbooks follow it. The symbols Al and Cs are the same either way, and the note after those two questions gives both spellings.
Where do the symbols and names come from?
All 118 names, symbols and atomic numbers were checked against the IUPAC Periodic Table of the Elements dated 4 May 2022, on the date shown under the quiz. Name origins were checked against Wikipedia's lists of chemical elements and element name etymologies. The questions and notes were written for this site, which has no link to IUPAC.