Christine Hovland, age 11, of G1oucester, Mass., for her question:

Why is Fe the symbol for iron?

Most of the chemical symbols of the elements are simple, and We can spot what this scientific shorthand means at a glance. His the symbol for hydrogen and 0 is the symbol for oxygen. A means argon and B is shorthand for boron. Another element starts with the same letter as hydrogen. It is helium and its symbol is He. Barium is Ba, berillium is Be and bromine is Br.

But a number of the basic symbols do not follow these Simple rules. Nine elements take their symbols from their old Latin names. Cu is copper, once known as cupprum. Au is gold, once known as aurum. K, from kalium, is potassium, and Na, from natrium, is sodium. The chemical symbol for iron is Fe because iron was once known as ferro.