Which one among the following are the correct symbols for the elements gold, tin and lead, respectively ?
- A.Ga, Sb, Pb
- B.At, Sn, Le
- C.Au, Sn, Pb
- D.Au, Sb, Pb
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Au, Sn, Pb. All three symbols come from the Latin names of these metals: aurum, stannum and plumbum.
Many metals known since ancient times take their symbols from Latin rather than English. Gold is Au from aurum, tin is Sn from stannum and lead is Pb from plumbum, the word that also gives us 'plumber', since water pipes were once made of lead. Other common examples are Fe for iron (ferrum), Cu for copper (cuprum), Ag for silver (argentum), Na for sodium (natrium), K for potassium (kalium) and Hg for mercury (hydrargyrum).
A is wrong: Ga is gallium and Sb is antimony (from stibium), not gold and tin.
B is wrong: At is astatine, and Le is not the symbol of any element.
D is wrong: Au and Pb are right, but Sb stands for antimony, not tin.
Exam tip: Sn = stannum (tin) and Sb = stibium (antimony) are the pair most often swapped in options.
Practice Questions
View allWhich one of the following frequency ranges is sensitive to human ears ?
- A.0-200 Hz
- B.20-20,000 Hz
- C.200-20,000 Hz only
- D.2,000-20,000 Hz only
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- B.Potassium
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Read the full explanation →Which of the following sets of elements has the same valency?
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- B.Na, Mg, Al
- C.Mg, Ca, K
- D.Mg, Ca, Ba
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