Symbol (chemistry) the material was known in ancient times, while for others, the name is a more recent invention. For example, "He" is the symbol for helium (New Latin name, not known in ancient Roman times), "Pb" for lead ("plumbum" in Latin), and "Hg" for mercury ("hydrargyrum" in Greek). Some symbols come from other sources, like "W" for tungsten ("Wolfram" in German, not known in Roman times). Temporary symbols assigned to newly or not-yet synthesized elements use 3-letter symbols based on their atomic numbers. For example, "Uno" was the temporary symbol for hassium (element 108) which had the temporary name of "unniloctium".
Period 4 element quickly begins to tarnish as it reacts with air. It is soft enough to be cut with a knife and it is the second least dense element. Potassium has a relatively low melting point; it will melt just by putting it under a small open flame. It also is less dense than water, and can, in turn, float. Calcium (Ca) is the second element in period 4, between potassium and scandium. An alkali earth metal, calcium is almost never found in nature due to its high reactivity with water. It has one of the most widely known and acknowledged biological