Question

Is the following symbol of element incorrect? Give the correct symbol.
Cobalt- $CO$

Answer 1

Hint: Here, we are asked about the chemical symbol of an element. Chemical symbols of the elements, as the name suggests, are the symbols or the abbreviations used for the chemical elements. For every element, there is a symbol which is the same worldwide.

Complete answer: As we know, that periodic table is a table containing all the known elements with their atomic mass, weight, density, etc. in a tabular form. In the periodic table, these elements are given with their chemical symbols, that is, their abbreviation. Chemical symbols are not more than one or two letters. For example, $H$is a symbol for a Hydrogen element having atomic number and atomic mass as $1$.
Here, the symbol for cobalt is given as $CO$ which is incorrect as the correct symbol for Cobalt is $Co$. If we look at symbol,$CO$, then it is the combination of two other symbols of elements, that is, carbon whose symbol is $C$ having atomic number as $6$ and oxygen whose symbol is $O$having atomic number as $8$, then it will be called as carbon monoxide.
So, the correct chemical symbol of cobalt is $Co$.
Cobalt is a chemical element whose atomic number is $27$. Cobalt is found in the earth’s crust but in a chemically combined form only which is then converted into a free element by heating the ore of the cobalt element and then the free element which we get is a hard and lustrous element and is silver-grey coloured metal.

Note:
Symbols of chemical elements, that is, their abbreviations are there because it is easier to write them down and also it makes it easier for us to write down the chemical reactions. There is no easy way to memorize them.