The language of chemistry II

(continuation of the previous  - the language of chemistry I)
There is one more variation. The symbols of some elements are not assigned according to their English names but according to their Latin names. For example, the symbol for sodium is Na which is derived from its Latin name natrium. Similarly, K, the symbol for potassium, is derived from kalium, and Fe, the symbol for iron, is derived from ferrum.

The names and symbols of some elements are given in the following table:

You may have noticed that names of some common substances like wood, sugar, bronze, paper, plastic, etc, have not been included in the table. This is because these substances are not elements. You will, perhaps, be surprised to know that bronze is not an element but a mixture of copper and zinc.

Are you wondering whether these substances have symbols or not?  Do they have abbreviated names or not? The answer is yes, they do. But before discussing these symbols, we need to look at one more aspect.

Could you find out about other elements and if the source of their symbol is their English or Latin name?

One advantage of using symbols is that we don’t have to write the full name of the substance every time we refer to it. There is another advantage. When we use the full name of a substance, say ‘iron’, we do not know the quantity of the substance. But when we write its symbol Fe, we know there is only one atom of iron. This represents the equivalent amount of this substance of the atomic weight of iron. To similarly show two atoms of iron we write 2Fe.

How will you show three atoms each of carbon, silver and gold?