All of which go to show how the periodic table of elements has become the iconic symbol of science. Mark Lorch is Professor of Science Communication and Chemistry at the University of Hull, U.K.

The elements complete the seventh row of the Periodic Table. The discoverers, who come from Japan, the United States and Russia, were given the right to propose the names and symbols.

While I don’t expect my elementary students to be able to memorize the periodic table of elements, I find it necessary for me to have an understanding of how these elements work so I can answer ...

Do you remember these periodic table symbols? Ireland’s 15 year-olds are performing significantly better than most of their international peers in reading, maths and science.

The new superheavy, radioactive elements were added to the periodic table last year but given temporary and unremarkable names: ununtrium, ununpentium, ununseptium and ununoctoium.

"The chemistry community is eager to see its most cherished table finally being completed down to the seventh row," Jan Reedijk, president of IUPAC's Inorganic Chemistry Division, said in the release.

Ireland's 15 year-olds are performing significantly better than most of their international peers in reading, maths and science.