Finding an element on the periodic table

0:00How do we find an element on the periodic table?

0:04The periodic table has one box for each of the 118 elements.

0:10Let us look closely at one box, the box for carbon.

0:14The big letter C is carbon's symbol, a short way to write its name.

0:19Under the symbol is the element's name.

0:22The number at the top is called the atomic number.

0:26Every element has its own atomic number, and carbon's is 6.

0:31The elements go in order of atomic number, left to right, row by row.

0:42The gaps in the top rows are empty space, so skip right over them.

0:48The numbers keep going like this, all the way to 118.

0:55So where is the element with atomic number 8?

0:58Start at 1 and count along, row by row, until you reach 8.

1:06Box number 8 is oxygen, and its symbol is O.

1:12So find an element by its atomic number, reading left to right, row by row.