Symbol
The symbol of an element is a short way of representing an element.
Symbols can be formed as follows:
1) By using the first letter of the English name of the element.
| Hydrogen | H | Phosphorus | P |
| Oxygen | O | Sulphur | S |
2) By using the first and second letters of the English name of the element.
| Helium | He | Calcium | Ca |
| Lithium | Li | Cobalt | Co |
Chemical Formula
The chemical formula of a substance is the symbolic representation of the actual number of atoms present in one molecule of that substance.
Valency
Valency is the combining capacity of an atom. It is equal to the number of electrons the atom loses, or gains or shares when it combines with one or more atoms.
Depending on whether the atom loses, gains or shares electrons, the valency may be positive or negative or neutral respectively.
Names of Compounds
Binary compounds are compounds containing only two elements. If one of the two is a metal (or ammonium), then the suffix - ide, is added to the non-metal atom.
Chemical Equation
A chemical equation is a "balanced account of a chemical transaction." In any chemical transaction or reaction, the number of atoms of all the participating elements will remain proportionately constant before and after the reaction (The Law of Conservation of Mass).
Summary
Some symbols are named after the first capital letter of the English name of the element. When there is more than one element starting with the same English capital alphabet, the second letter is also used in its lower case, along with the first capital letter.
