Why is the symbol for carbon Cand for potassium K while for iron Fe?

Answer 1

At a glance, the Periodic Table naming system and atomic symbol assignment system can seem rather arbitrary at times. However, there is a method to the madness. Carbon has the atomic symbol C for obvious reasons. Potassium is given the symbol of K because its name has initially kalium, which means alkali in Latin. Iron was given the symbol Fe because it was assigned the Latin name for iron, "ferrum".

Answer 2

The symbols for elements are derived from their Latin names. Carbon's symbol "C" comes from the Latin word "Carbo," potassium's symbol "K" comes from "Kalium," and iron's symbol "Fe" comes from "Ferrum." This system helps to standardize and simplify the representation of elements in the periodic table.