Periodic Table Basics for Living Things

The periodic table helps explain which elements living things need and how those elements are related. Elements are the smallest units of matter that cannot be broken down further by chemical processes. There are 118 known elements, but not all occur naturally, and even fewer are essential for life.

The periodic table is a common reference in chemistry, where all known elements are arranged by increasing atomic number.

An element’s symbol is usually one or two letters and often comes from its English name or from its Latin or German name. For example, sodium is abbreviated as Na, from the Latin word natrium.

Out of the 92...