How Latin has helped me in Science (Will B.)

My Latin vocabulary has helped me in my science classes. It has helped me in particular in Chemistry. Elements are identified on the periodic table with a symbol comprised of one to two letters. These symbols are often just the first letter of the element's name or an abbreviation of its name, but sometimes they have no relation to the element's English name. In some cases, an element's symbol is an abbreviation of the element's Latin name. For instance, iron's symbol is Fe. This has nothing to do with the word "iron" and everything to do with the Latin word "ferrus". This is the Latin word for iron. Another example is gold. Gold's symbol is Au. This is an abbreviation for the Latin word for gold "aurum". These vocabulary hints gave me a head start at remembering the element's positions in the table. When the symbols are known, elements can be identified at a glance. Latin made this easy. I was happy when I realized that a small part of chemistry would be easy to master thanks to Latin class.