How much do you remember from your high school chemistry class? Find out with this quiz on the periodic table of elements.
Periodic Table Quiz: Can You Guess the Element from Its Chemical Symbol?
Updated on Jul. 08, 2024
Test your smarts with this periodic table quiz
Unless you currently work in a field that involves science (or you crack chemistry jokes regularly), the days of memorizing the elements of the period table are long behind you. There are currently 118 known elements on the periodic table, and we’ve put 20 of them below to create a brain game that tests your knowledge. Do you know what element Si is? What about Ne? See how many you get correct on this quiz of the periodic table of elements.
Mg
Do you know what element Mg is?
Also, check whether you can pass this quiz of 4th-grade science questions.
Magnesium
Mg stands for Magnesium, and it is the eighth most abundant element in the earth’s crust. And if you’re a true science nerd, you’ll appreciate these nerdy pickup lines.
H
Although it is the second question on our quiz of the periodic table of elements, H is the first element on the periodic table. Do you know what it is?
Hydrogen
The H stands for Hydrogen. Hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant element in the universe.
Si
What element is Si?
Silicon
Si stands for Silicon. Fun science fact: Silicon is one of the elements in the sun and stars.
N
What element is N?
Nitrogen
N is the abbreviation for Nitrogen, which makes up about 78% of the atmosphere by volume.
Ar
Do you know what element Ar is?
Argon
Ar is Argon. Argon is a colorless and odorless gas that is present in a very small part of the atmosphere.
He
Hint, this is the second element on the periodic table.
Helium
Did you guess that He is Helium? Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe.
O
This one should be easy. Do you know what element O is?
Oxygen
O is the chemical symbol for Oxygen. About two-thirds of the human body is oxygen.
K
This is one of the harder questions on our quiz for the periodic table of elements. Hint, the element doesn’t start with the letter K.
Potassium
The chemical symbol for Potassium is K. Potassium is essential in plant growth and the human diet, and it’s commonly found in bananas.
Cu
What element is Cu?
Copper
Cu is Copper, one of the most important metals.
Ca
Here’s another element that starts with a C, Ca.
Calcium
Ca is the chemical symbol for Calcium. It’s an essential part of bones, leaves, teeth and shells.
B
Element B is in the second row of the periodic table. Do you know what it stands for?
Boron
B represents Boron, which contains properties that are borderline between metals and non-metals.
Ne
What element is Ne?
Neon
Did you guess that Ne is the chemical symbol for Neon? Here’s an interesting fact: In a vacuum discharge tube, neon glows a reddish-orange color. Its discharge is the most intense at ordinary voltages of all the rare gases.
F
What does the abbreviation F represent?
Fluorine
F stands for Fluorine, and it’s the most reactive of all elements.
Take a break from our quiz of the periodic table of elements with some funny science jokes.
Al
What element is Al?
Aluminum
Al is the chemical symbol for Aluminum. Pure aluminum is a silvery-white metal.
I
What element does the I represent on the periodic table?
Iodine
I is for Iodine. Its compounds are very useful in organic chemistry, medicine and photography.
Rn
Do you know what element Rn is?
Radon
Rn is the chemical symbol for Radon. If inhaled it can be very dangerous to humans. In some areas, radon builds up in homes from the surrounding soil and rock and has to be mitigated.
Au
Hint, if you had a lot of this you would be rich.
Gold
Au represents the element Gold. It can be mixed with other elements to create white and rose gold.
Hg
This one is tricky. Do you know what Hg is?
Mercury
Maybe surprisingly, Hg is the chemical symbol for Mercury. It is mainly found in cinnabar ore in Spain and Italy.
Be
Do you know what element Be is?
Beryllium
Did you guess that Be is the chemical symbol for Beryllium? It is one of the metals with a very high melting point.
Co
Last one. What does Co stand for?
Cobalt
Co is the chemical symbol for Cobalt. Cobalt is in meteorites.
Did you get all 20 correct? If you got 100% on this quiz for the periodic table of elements, try this 4th-grade science quiz next.
Why trust us
Reader’s Digest is known for our humor and brain games, including quizzes, puzzles, riddles, word games, trivia, math, pattern and logic puzzles, guessing games, crosswords, rebus, hidden objects and spot-the-difference challenges. We’ve earned prestigious ASME awards for our entertainment content and have produced dozens of brain-teaser books, including Word Searches, Word Power, Use Your Words, Fun Puzzles and Brain Ticklers, Mind Stretchers, Ultimate Christmas Puzzles and more. Our 10 published volumes of Mind Stretchers were edited by Allen D. Bragdon, founder of The Brainwaves Center and editor of Games magazine. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
