Periodic Table: Symbols, Groups & Elements Explained | GCSE Science
Unlock the secrets of the periodic table! This study deck breaks down element symbols, group characteristics, atomic numbers, and common elements. Perfect for GCSE Science and Chemistry revision.
Every card and question is tagged with the concept it tests, so the quiz can show which ones you have and which still need work. The cards themselves come back on their own schedule: the ones you keep missing return sooner than the ones you know.
Reading the table
What the number and the position of an element tell you.
7 cards - 1 quiz question
Symbols that do not match the name
Symbols taken from the Latin name rather than the English one.
8 cards - 2 quiz questions
Groups and families
The families that share a column, and how they behave.
5 cards - 2 quiz questions
Elements worth knowing on sight
The elements worth knowing by symbol without looking.
4 cards - 1 quiz question
Flashcards
What does an element's atomic number count?Protons in the nucleus. It is what makes the element that element.
What does a row of the periodic table tell you?A period: how many electron shells the atoms have.
What do elements in the same column share?The number of electrons in their outer shell, which is why they react alike.
Which element has atomic number 1?Hydrogen, H.
Which element has atomic number 6?Carbon, C.
Which element has atomic number 8?Oxygen, O.
Which element has atomic number 26?Iron, Fe.
Why is the symbol for iron Fe?From its Latin name, ferrum.
What is the symbol for sodium, and where does it come from?Na, from the Latin natrium.
What is the symbol for potassium?K, from the Latin kalium.
What is the symbol for lead?Pb, from the Latin plumbum.
What is the symbol for gold?Au, from the Latin aurum.
What is the symbol for silver?Ag, from the Latin argentum.
What is the symbol for tin?Sn, from the Latin stannum.
What is the symbol for copper?Cu, from the Latin cuprum.
What are the group 1 elements called?The alkali metals: lithium, sodium, potassium and the rest of that column.
What are the group 7 elements called?The halogens: fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine.
What are the group 0 elements called, and what is unusual about them?The noble gases. Their outer shell is full, so they barely react at all.
What happens to reactivity going down group 1?It increases: potassium reacts with water more violently than sodium, and sodium more than lithium.
What happens to reactivity going down group 7?It decreases: fluorine is the most reactive of the halogens, iodine the least of the common four.