Many elements have lengthy and difficult names. To study the elements conveniently, we use their symbols. As we know, that children at home are sometimes called by the short form of their full name for convenience, exactly in the same way, we have short forms of names of elements called symbols. Different elements have different symbols which are not derived by any general rule but they have some kind of logic which is applicable to not all but few elements.

A specific abbreviation used to denote the name of an element is called its symbol.

The symbol of an element indicates one atom of that element. It also stands for atomic mass of that element. These symbols are used to denote the elements while writing down chemical reactions. The symbols of elements consist of one or two letters.

There are twelve elements in the periodic table which have their symbols of only one letter. Other elements have their symbols made of two letters. The first letter of a symbol is always written in capitals, the second letter , if any, in a small letter. Symbols of some elements are derived from their English, German, Greek or Latin names. For example, symbols like Fe ( Ferrum ) , K ( Kalium ), Au(Aurum ), Na ( Natrium ) etc. are derived from their Latin names. The symbol for tungsten is W which is taken from its German name wolfrum. Most of the symbols are taken from the English names of elements.