The US-based International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the global organization that governs chemical nomenclature, terminology and measurement, verified the elements on 30 December, 2015 after poring over studies dating back to 2004. The scientists who found them must now come up with formal names to replace the clunky Latin- based placeholders – ununtrium, ununpentium, ununseptium and ununoctium – which reflect their atomic numbers, 113, 115, 117, and 118. The atomic number is the number of protons found in an element’s atomic nucleus.
What must the scientists who found the new elements do now?
Decide on the official names of the new elements Verify that the atomic numbers of the new elements are 113, 115, 117 and 118 Verify the new elements with IUPAC Further study the properties of the new elements