Row 4: scandium to krypton
Row 4: scandium to krypton: a chapter of The Periodic Table Book, with each element's symbol, number and story.
17 cards · Science
Each Zap teaches up to 5 new cards, so you learn the chapter a few at a time.
Checked by the Brain Zap team · reviewed 27 Oct 2026
Sources: Periodic Table of Elements (IUPAC), Periodic Table (Royal Society of Chemistry)
Preview
Symbol: Sc
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Scandium
Learn more: Predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 before it was found; a little of it strengthens aluminium bike frames.
Symbol: Ti
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Titanium
Learn more: As strong as some steels but much lighter, and the body accepts it, so it goes into implants and aircraft.
Symbol: V
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Vanadium
Learn more: Named after Vanadís, another name of the goddess Freyja, for its beautifully coloured compounds.
Symbol: Cr
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Chromium
Learn more: Its name means colour, for its bright compounds; it is what makes stainless steel stainless.
Symbol: Mn
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Manganese
Learn more: Steel needs it to be tough; despite the similar name, magnesium is a different element.
About this topic
The fourth row of the periodic table brings the first transition metals: hard, shiny elements such as titanium, iron, copper and zinc that built tools, coins and machines. It ends with gallium, which melts in your hand, the famous poison arsenic, bromine, one of only two liquid elements, and the noble gas krypton. Several were predicted by Mendeleev before anyone found them, which made his table famous.
This is a chapter of The Periodic Table Book. Each card shows a symbol or an atomic number and asks for the element's name, with a hint before you answer and a fact after.
All 17 cards
Symbol: Sc
Scandium
Learn more: Predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 before it was found; a little of it strengthens aluminium bike frames.
Symbol: Ti
Titanium
Learn more: As strong as some steels but much lighter, and the body accepts it, so it goes into implants and aircraft.
Symbol: V
Vanadium
Learn more: Named after Vanadís, another name of the goddess Freyja, for its beautifully coloured compounds.
Symbol: Cr
Chromium
Learn more: Its name means colour, for its bright compounds; it is what makes stainless steel stainless.
Symbol: Mn
Manganese
Learn more: Steel needs it to be tough; despite the similar name, magnesium is a different element.
Symbol: Fe
Iron
Learn more: Fe comes from ferrum, Latin for iron. Earth's core is mostly iron.
Symbol: Co
Cobalt
Learn more: Named after kobold, a goblin German miners blamed for ores that yielded no copper.
Symbol: Ni
Nickel
Learn more: Miners called its ore Kupfernickel, devil's copper, because it looked like copper ore but gave none.
Element 29
Copper
Learn more: Its symbol Cu comes from cuprum, after Cyprus, where the Romans mined it.
Symbol: Zn
Zinc
Learn more: A coat of zinc, called galvanising, protects steel from rust; brass is copper mixed with zinc.
Symbol: Ga
Gallium
Learn more: It melts at about 30 °C, so a spoon made of it melts in a hot drink.
Symbol: Ge
Germanium
Learn more: Mendeleev predicted it in 1871; it was found in 1886 and named after Germany.
Element 33
Arsenic
Learn more: Once nicknamed inheritance powder by poisoners; today it is used in some semiconductors.
Symbol: Se
Selenium
Learn more: Named after Selene, the Greek Moon goddess; it conducts electricity better in light.
Symbol: Br
Bromine
Learn more: One of only two elements that are liquid at room temperature; its name comes from the Greek for stench.
Symbol: Kr
Krypton
Learn more: A noble gas whose name means hidden; it is used in some bright lamps and lasers.
Block in the middle of the table, from Sc to Zn
Transition metals
Learn more: Most are hard, shiny metals that conduct electricity and form coloured compounds.
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