Question

How does Dalton represent the symbol of copper?

Answer 1

Hint:The symbols for the elements were given either by their name, place of occurrence or in remembrance of scientists etc. The symbols were also given on the basis of the properties they show. Many elements have two different names i.e. in language like Latin the element may be called different.

Complete step-by-step answer:Dalton was the person who first gave the symbols for the elements. He found out that in an element there are many atoms and these atoms altogether make the whole element. The symbol represents the atom of that element.
-If we see the symbols that Dalton gave for the elements known in his time, it was all either based on the characteristics of them, the name of the place they are obtained from or the first letters of the element's name.
-Copper was then called Cuprum, a Latin word which is the ancient name of the island of Cyprus. The copper is the oldest metal known. Romans obtained a major part of the copper from the island of Cuprum. There is much evidence in the history that copper objects were present before many centuries.
-As copper was called Cuprum he coined the symbol for element by giving the element its first alphabet.

Additional information:
Dalton’s representation was hard to remember and was replaced by the Berzelius which is used now. And now the symbol of copper is Cu. Copper is a transition metal that has the atomic number 29 which is placed in the ${{4}^{^{th}}}$ period of the periodic table.
Copper has an electronic configuration,
\[Cu=\left[ Ar \right]3{{d}^{10}}4{{s}^{1}}\] \[Cu=\left[ Ar \right]3{{d}^{10}}4{{s}^{1}}\]
It possesses extra stability due to completely filled d-orbitals.
Copper is commercially used in various electronic devices and it is also used in the making of alloys.

Note:One may get confused with the symbols between Cobalt and copper as for Cobalt it is represented as Co and for Copper it is Cu, Cuprum the Latin name of copper. There are many such symbols which are coined from their Latin names for silver; its Ag from the Latin word for silver is Argentum, for gold it’s Aurum.