Question

Which of the following correctly represents the symbol for chlorine in the Berzelius system?
A.M
B.Cl
C.Mn
D.C

Answer 1

To solve this question, we must first understand the need to denote elements with symbols. Then we need to discuss the elements in the Berzelius system to find the answer.

Complete Step-by-Step Answer:
Before we move forward with the solution of the given question, let us first understand some important basic concepts.
We first need to understand the necessity for a chemical symbol. The names of chemicals and compounds are often quite long to be written and represented in complex and long chemical reactions. Also, there is always a chance of writing the wrong spelling and then the interpretation of the wrong spelling could be assumed to be some completely different chemical. To relax this confusion and to bring a uniformity to the way we address chemicals, chemical symbols were introduced.
In about 1813 – 1814, a scientist named Berzelius decided to annotate all the elements discovered till then (47 elements were discovered by then) by their Latin names only. Let us understand the names of the elements given in the option from the Berzelius system:
1.M: M stands for the Muriatic Radicle which represents the chemical Chlorine, which is now represented by Cl
2.Cl: Cl stands for Columbium. The name of the element was retained in the modern periodic table but the symbol was changed to Nb.
3.Mn: There was no element represented by this symbol in the Berzelius system
4.C: C stands for carbon. The name of the element was retained in the modern periodic table along with the symbol

Hence, Option A is the correct option

Note: Chemical symbols can be defined as a short notation for a given chemical which is often derived from the scientific name of the chemical element. Now, the origin of the names of these elements are often in English, but there exist certain elements which Latin origin names. Hence, their symbols also represent their Latin names.