Everything Science Grade 10

CHAPTER 2. CLASSIFICATION OF MATTER 2.3

Elements ESAAA

Anelementis a chemical substance that can’t be divided or changed into other chemi-
cal substances by any ordinary chemical means. The smallest unit of an element is the
atom.

DEFINITION: Element

An element is a substance that cannot be broken down into other substances

through chemical means.

There are 112 officially named elements and about 118 known elements. Most of these are
natural, but some are man-made. The elements we know are represented in theperiodic
table, where each element is abbreviated to achemical symbol. Table 2.3 gives the first
20 elements and some of the common transition metals.

FACT

Recently it was

agreed that two more

elements would be

added to the list

of officially named

elements. These are

elements number

114 and 116. The

proposed name

for element 114 is

flerovium and for

element 116 it is

moscovium. This

brings the total

number of officially

named elements to

114.

Element name Element symbol Element name Element symbol

Hydrogen H Phosphorus P

Helium He Sulphur S

Lithium Li Chlorine Cl

Beryllium Be Argon Ar

Boron B Potassium K

Carbon C Calcium Ca

Nitrogen N Iron Fe

Oxygen O Nickel Ni

Fluorine F Copper Cu

Neon Ne Zinc Zn

Sodium Na Silver Ag

Magnesium Mg Platinum Pt

Aluminium Al Gold Au

Silicon Si Mercury Hg

Table 2.2: List of the first 20 elements and some common transition metals

Chemistry: Matter and Materials 31