The Symbols, and Where You Met Them

Why Anything Sticks Together · Page 1 of 3

Name Date
DIRECTIONS: You have met each of these elements already. Name it and give its symbol (iron is Fe, gold is Au).
#You have met it hereWhich element?Symbol
1.the orange glow in a neon sign
2.the glowing wire in an old light bulb — it melts hotter than anything else
3.inside a light bulb, doing nothing on purpose
4.party balloons — and it leaks off the planet for good once released
5.sand, glass, and the chip inside every phone
6.water pipes, wires, and the green on an old roof
7.old thermometers — the only metal that is liquid at room temperature
8.bananas, and every cell you have

The Ones That Do Not Match

Why Anything Sticks Together · Page 2 of 3

DIRECTIONS: These eight symbols come from old Latin or Greek names. Which element is each?
ferrum, aurum, argentum, plumbum, natrium, kalium, wolfram, hydrargyrum
#SymbolWhich elementWhere you meet it
9.Fe
10.Au
11.Ag
12.Pb
13.Na
14.K
15.W
16.Hg
  1. A plumber, and lead pipes. Say which symbol on this page explains that word, and what it tells you about how long people have been naming these things.

Where They Sit

Why Anything Sticks Together · Page 3 of 3

DIRECTIONS: The first four rows of the table, in order of proton count. Find the ones from page 1.
H1He2Li3Be4B5C6N7O8F9Ne10Na11Mg12Al13Si14P15S16Cl17Ar18K19Ca20Br35Kr36iron · copper · zinc · silver · gold · mercury …121314151617181234group numbers along the top · period numbers down the side
the dashed band is where iron, copper, silver, gold and mercury live · big number is the symbol, small one is the proton count
  1. Neon and argon are in the same column. Say what you already know about both of them from page 1.
  2. Sodium is number 11 and potassium is number 19, and they are in the same column. Bananas and a metal that catches fire on water. Suggest what a column might mean.
  3. Hydrogen sits on its own at the top. Give one reason a table would put a single box up there rather than tucking it into a column.