Why is CaO the symbol for calcium oxide instead of CAO? A)both can be the symbols for calcium oxide B)both are incorrect; the symbol is cao C)a capital letter means a new symbol D)both are incorrect as the symbol should be CaO_x

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Chemical symbols use a capital letter for the first character to represent the element (in this case, "Ca" for calcium) and, if necessary, a lowercase letter for the second character. Since "O" represents oxygen and is a single element, it remains uppercase. There is no element represented by "AO" or "ao," hence the correct notation is "CaO" for calcium oxide.

Why Is CaO the Symbol for Calcium Oxide Instead of CAO