Element Symbols
Match elements to their symbols in a free, timed browser game. Au, Ag, Fe, Pb — and why they do not match the English names.
ScienceType the Symbol
The symbol is the element's abbreviation, and for half of them it comes from Latin rather than English. Below: which ones you can derive and which you simply have to know, and why typing them locks them in faster than reading them.
Choose your difficulty
Pick a level to start playing. You can switch at any time.
How to play
Type the element symbol, then press Enter. Case does not matter.
Tip: your progress and best score are saved in this browser only.
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ScienceWhat you are actually practicing
The symbol is the element's abbreviation, and for half of them it comes from Latin rather than English: gold is Au from aurum, silver is Ag from argentum, lead is Pb from plumbum.
The Latin half has to be memorised. The other half — H, C, O, N, S — is just the first letter, and the rest are short enough to drill.
How the game works
You are shown an element name and type its symbol, then press Enter. Case does not matter, so Au and au are both accepted. A wrong answer is revealed immediately.
Easy uses the famous elements. Medium widens the set. Hard uses the full list, including the Latin-derived ones.
The habits that matter
Type the capital and lowercase correctly. A symbol is one capital letter and at most one lowercase. Typing AU is wrong even though it reads the same.
Do not spell the element out. gold is not the symbol; Au is.
Say the element's Latin name. For the tricky ones, the Latin root is the actual route: aurum gives Au, argentum gives Ag.
Type the whole symbol before Enter. Half-typed symbols are the most common way to lose a point you were about to earn.
Strategies that actually raise your score
Group the ones that are derivable. Hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon — one letter, first letter, no Latin needed. Learn those as a group and half the list is free.
Learn the Latin roots as pairs. Au/aurum, Ag/argentum, Fe/ferrum, Cu/cuprum, Sn/stannum, Pb/plumbum, Hg/hydrargyrum. Seven pairs cover every symbol that looks arbitrary.
Watch the ones that are not derived. Na for sodium, K for potassium, W for tungsten — these three are the classic traps, and K in particular will not be guessed by anyone who has not met it.