Systematic element name: Encyclopedia II - Systematic element name - The IUPAC rules

Systematic element name - The IUPAC rules

The temporary names are derived systematically from the element's atomic number. Each digit is translated to a 'numerical root', according to the table. The roots are concatenated, and the name is completed with the ending -ium. Some of the roots are Latin and others are Greek; the reason is to avoid duplicated letters. Some extra rules are designed to prevent funny-looking names.

• If bi or tri is followed by the ending ium, one of the two i's is omitted.
• If enn is followed by nil, one of the three n's is omitted.

The systematic symbol is formed by taking the first letter of each root, converting the first to a capital.

All elements up to and including atomic number 111 have received permanent trivial names and symbols, so the use of systematic names and symbols is recommended only for elements 112 and above. Therefore in practice, systematic names are just those with 3-letter symbols.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The IUPAC rules", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki