Elements 1-18: the first three rows of the periodic table
18 elements, periods 1 to 3. Hydrogen sits in group 1 on most tables, though it is not a metal.
The first eighteen elements are the ones you meet most: the air you breathe, the water you drink, the salt on the table and the sand on the beach. Learn these and the shape of the whole periodic table starts to make sense.
Eighteen is too many to hold at once, so take it a row at a time: row 1 has two elements, rows 2 and 3 have eight each, and the engine splits each row into two chunks of four. Picture each row as a shelf in your kitchen, and put a vivid object for each element on it, left to right (a balloon for helium, a battery for lithium, a diamond for carbon). Say the symbols out loud as you walk the shelf, then look away and rebuild it.
Encode make it vivid → Space bring it back on day 1, 3, 7, 21 → Retrieve pull it from your head. From the infographic Remember It on Purpose.
Elements 1-18: the first three rows of the periodic table
| Atomic number | Symbol | Element | Group | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | H | Hydrogen | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | He | Helium | 18 | 1 |
| 3 | Li | Lithium | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Be | Beryllium | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | B | Boron | 13 | 2 |
| 6 | C | Carbon | 14 | 2 |
| 7 | N | Nitrogen | 15 | 2 |
| 8 | O | Oxygen | 16 | 2 |
| 9 | F | Fluorine | 17 | 2 |
| 10 | Ne | Neon | 18 | 2 |
| 11 | Na | Sodium | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | Mg | Magnesium | 2 | 3 |
| 13 | Al | Aluminum | 13 | 3 |
| 14 | Si | Silicon | 14 | 3 |
| 15 | P | Phosphorus | 15 | 3 |
| 16 | S | Sulfur | 16 | 3 |
| 17 | Cl | Chlorine | 17 | 3 |
| 18 | Ar | Argon | 18 | 3 |
Eighteen is too many to hold at once, so take it a row at a time: row 1 has two elements, rows 2 and 3 have eight each, and the engine splits each row into two chunks of four. Picture each row as a shelf in your kitchen, and put a vivid object for each element on it, left to right (a balloon for helium, a battery for lithium, a diamond for carbon). Say the symbols out loud as you walk the shelf, then look away and rebuild it. · teddyrookbook.com/memory/challenges/elements-1-18/
Sources
- Teddy Rook Book periodic table data (data/elements/elements.json; IUPAC/CIAAW and NIST)
- PubChem (NIH): Periodic Table of Elements, with standard state
- PubChem (NIH): IUPAC Periodic Table of the Elements and Isotopes
Checked October 30, 2026. Progress is kept on this device only (per learner). More lists: all memory challenges · memory games.