Ask A Scientist Chemistry Archive

Question:  Why do we abbreviate the elements on the periodic table and 
where did they come from?
ahmrc

Answer:
Abbreviations are used probably to make life simpler!  Writing out the
whole name of an element to depict a chemical reaction just wouldn't
be practical either.  Many of the abbreviations are simply the first one
or two letters of the name i.e. "C" for carbon,  "Al" for aluminum.  Others
come from the first one or two letters of the element's Latin name i.e.
"Cu" for cuprum (copper) and "W" for wolfrum (tungsten).  So convenience
and practicality are most likely the main reasons abbreviations are used.
-Joe Schultz

Correction to previous response:
  Wolfram (note spelling) is from German, not Latin.  This is the name
  for tungsten.  Thanks to brownf for catching that.
-Joe Schultz