Question

How is the chemical symbol of an element determined

Answer 1

There are 4 ways: first letter, first 2 letters, first and third letter, or a derivative of the original element name

Answer 2

The chemical symbol of an element is determined by the language used to abbreviate the element. Most chemical symbols use abbreviations of the English name for the element, such as "O" for oxygen, "H" for hydrogen or "Ar" for argon.