LearnLearn Guide for parents
What are the first 20 elements of the periodic table? A kid-friendly list
The first 20 elements of the periodic table run from hydrogen (1) to calcium (20). They fill the first three rows of the table and start the fourth, and they include most of what kids touch every day: the oxygen and nitrogen in air, the carbon in pencils, the sodium and chlorine in table salt, and the calcium in their bones.
These are the twenty most science classes start with, so they're worth knowing well. Below is the full list with one true, kid-sized fact for each element, plus the patterns that make the list easier to remember. Every name links to that element's page in the Elemondex, with its card, its moves and the real science behind them.
What are the first 20 elements, in order?
Here are the first 20 elements in order of atomic number. The atomic number is how many protons are in the center of each atom, and it goes up by exactly one each time.
| # | Symbol | Element | Elemon type | One fact for kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | H | Hydrogen | Life | The lightest element. Stars, including our Sun, are mostly hydrogen. |
| 2 | He | Helium | Noble gas | Lighter than air, so balloons float. It never burns. |
| 3 | Li | Lithium | Blast | The lightest metal. Rechargeable phone batteries use it. |
| 4 | Be | Beryllium | Blast | Emeralds are a beryllium mineral. |
| 5 | B | Boron | Crystal | Turns a flame green, and helps oven-safe glass handle heat. |
| 6 | C | Carbon | Life | Diamonds and pencil "lead" (graphite) are both pure carbon. |
| 7 | N | Nitrogen | Life | About 78% of the air around you is nitrogen. |
| 8 | O | Oxygen | Life | About 21% of the air. You need it to breathe, and fire needs it to burn. |
| 9 | F | Fluorine | Acid | Fluoride, a form of fluorine, is added to toothpaste to protect teeth. |
| 10 | Ne | Neon | Noble gas | Glows red-orange in signs when electricity runs through it. |
| 11 | Na | Sodium | Blast | Half of table salt. The other half is chlorine. |
| 12 | Mg | Magnesium | Blast | Burns with a blinding white light, and sits in the middle of chlorophyll in green leaves. |
| 13 | Al | Aluminum | Metal | Foil and soda cans. It's the most common metal in Earth's crust. |
| 14 | Si | Silicon | Crystal | Most sand is silicon and oxygen. Computer chips are made from silicon. |
| 15 | P | Phosphorus | Life | Used in matches, and part of the mineral in your bones and teeth. |
| 16 | S | Sulfur | Life | Yellow crystals form around volcano vents. Rotten-egg smell is a sulfur gas. |
| 17 | Cl | Chlorine | Acid | Keeps swimming pools clean, and makes up the other half of table salt. |
| 18 | Ar | Argon | Noble gas | About 1% of the air. Welders use it to shield hot metal. |
| 19 | K | Potassium | Blast | Bananas are a good source. It colors a flame lilac-purple. |
| 20 | Ca | Calcium | Blast | Bones, teeth, chalk and marble are all full of calcium. |
The "Elemon type" column is the card's battle type in our game, one of nine. It follows the real table: Blast is the two reactive metal columns on the left, Acid is the halogens, Noble gas is the last column, Crystal is the metalloids, Life is the nonmetals living things are built from, and Metal is the everyday metals. There's a full explanation in how Elemon's nine types match the real element families.
Where do the first 20 elements sit on the periodic table?
They fill the top of the table, row by row:
- Row 1 has just two: hydrogen and helium, one at each far edge.
- Row 2 has eight: lithium through neon.
- Row 3 has eight: sodium through argon.
- Row 4 starts with two: potassium and calcium. The wide middle block of metals begins right after calcium, which is one reason the first 20 make a natural stopping point.
Kids who notice that each row ends with a gas that won't react (helium, neon, argon) have spotted one of the big patterns of the whole table.
Which of the first 20 elements are metals, and which are gases?
Sorting them is a good five-minute activity, and it shows how the table is organized:
- Metals (7): lithium, beryllium, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, potassium, calcium. Almost all of them sit on the left side.
- Metalloids (2): boron and silicon. They act partly like metals and partly not.
- Nonmetals (11): hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, and the noble gases helium, neon and argon.
At room temperature, 8 of the 20 are gases: hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, chlorine and argon. The other 12 are solids. None of the first 20 is a liquid. (Only two elements are liquid at room temperature, mercury and bromine, and both come later in the table.)
Why don't some symbols match the element names?
Two of the first 20 have symbols that don't look like their English names, and kids usually love the reason:
- Na is sodium, from *natrium*, an old Latin name.
- K is potassium, from *kalium*, another Latin name.
The pattern keeps going further down the table: Fe is iron (*ferrum*), Cu is copper (*cuprum*), Ag is silver (*argentum*) and Au is gold (*aurum*). Once a kid knows the trick, odd symbols turn into a puzzle instead of a wall.
Is there an easy way to remember the first 20 elements?
Yes. Split them into four groups of five, and give each group a silly sentence where each word starts like an element symbol. Here's a set we wrote for this page:
- H, He, Li, Be, B: *Happy Hens Lay Big Breakfasts*
- C, N, O, F, Ne: *Cats Nap On Fluffy Neighbors*
- Na, Mg, Al, Si, P: *Naughty Magpies Always Sing Poems*
- S, Cl, Ar, K, Ca: *Silly Clowns Are Kind Campers*
Learn one sentence a day for four days, then say all four in a row. Kids remember a sentence they helped invent even better, so let them swap in their own words. A mnemonic gets the order in, but it only sticks once the names mean something, which is why the fact column above matters more than the sentences.
How can kids practice the first 20 elements?
Short, regular practice beats one long study session. A few ways that work:
- Print the cards. Our free printable element cards cover exactly these 20, with the card art on the front and the facts and moves on the back. Sort them by row, by metal or gas, or play "higher number wins."
- Play bingo. Periodic table bingo uses exactly these 20, with a mode where you call the name and kids find the symbol.
- Go on an element hunt at home: foil (aluminum), a pencil (carbon), table salt (sodium and chlorine), chalk (calcium), a party balloon (helium).
- Play with the names. In Elemon, every one of these 20 is a playable card, and each move teaches one real fact. Kids end up using the names because it helps them win.
- Follow a plan. For a step-by-step approach, read how to teach kids the periodic table without memorizing it, or use the 5-minutes-a-day memorization plan.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 20th element on the periodic table?
Calcium, with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It's a soft, silvery metal in pure form, but kids know it from bones, teeth, chalk and milk.
How many of the first 20 elements are gases?
Eight are gases at room temperature: hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, chlorine and argon. The other twelve are solids.
Which of the first 20 elements is the heaviest?
Calcium. It has the highest atomic number of the twenty, and its atoms are also the heaviest of the group, just ahead of argon and potassium.
Do kids need to memorize the first 20 elements in order?
Not to start. It's more useful to know what each element is and where kids meet it. If a class does require the order, the four sentences above make it quick, and the names are much easier to keep once they're familiar.
Ready to put the names to work? Start a solo match, or print the first 20 element cards for the table.