Final answer:
Atoms of an element are defined by the number of protons in their nucleus, which is known as the atomic number. The atomic number ranges from 1 in hydrogen to 118 in Oganesson. The Latin name for potassium is 'kalium', showing that element symbols may be derived from Latin or English names.
Step-by-step explanation:
To understand how many atoms go into each element and what those elements are, we need to look at the atomic structure. Atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons, with protons and neutrons located in the nucleus, and electrons orbiting around the nucleus. The defining feature of an element is its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus.
For example, if an atom has one proton, it is an atom of hydrogen. At this time, there are 118 known elements with atomic numbers ranging from 1 for hydrogen to 118 for Oganesson (Og). A specific example is that an atom with six protons is always a carbon atom. Thus, the number of protons directly identifies the type of element an atom represents.
The Latin name for the element potassium is one of the examples where the symbol of the element (K) is derived from its Latin name 'kalium'. This illustrates that symbols for elements can come from either their English names or the Latin ones, like sodium (Na), gold (Au), and silver (Ag).
When constructing a model of an atom for a specific element, it's critical to know the atomic number to determine the correct number of protons, and by extension, identify the element being represented.