4 CHEMICAL GERMAN 



quite common in both technical and other literature of recent as 

 well as of earlier date. Many of the leading scientific German 

 periodicals use 6 and their example is followed in the exercises 

 for practice in the present volume. In the articles by German 

 scientists which follow in the second part a lack of uniformity as 

 regards the use of B and ss will be observed. 



The differences between the two systems are not sufficient to 

 cause confusion to the student, who should become familiar with 

 both and for whom a comparison of the two should prove an 

 aid to the study of German scientific literature. 



DIE NOMENKLATUR DER CHEMISCHEN ELEMENTE. 



The German names for the chemical elements are in most 

 cases closely similar to, or identical with, those used in English. 

 The names are neuter with few exceptions. In the following 

 table of elements a letter in parenthesis indicates the gender when 

 it is other than neuter. The practice which now prevails in much 

 of the German literature of replacing th by t, hard c by k and c 

 in such words as Acetylen by z, leads to some confusion, inas- 

 much as the changes are made somewhat irregularly. Such 

 changes do not affect the symbols of the elements. Thus Kal- 

 zium has still the symbol Ca. Zer (cerium) has the symbol Ce. 

 The nonmetal silicon is called Silicium (or Silizium) in German, 

 as was formerly the practice in English. Der Arsenik was used 

 formerly for arsenic as well as for "white arsenic" or arsenious 

 oxide, As 2 O 3 * It is still sometimes used for the element, but 

 commonly means the oxide. The names of several of the metals 

 are used either with or without the termination urn: thus Chrom 

 and Chromium; Cer and Cerium; Platin and Platinum; Ruthen 

 and Ruthenium. In the table the English names are given only 

 in cases of marked difference from the German. 

 * See p. 84. 



