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PO-TAS-SI-UM 
The first element of the fourth row (period) is potassium. The name potassium comes from a substance called Potash. That compound that has been used for hundreds of years and has the chemical formula KOH. Even though we have been using potash for centuries, Davy officially discovered potassium in 1807. In fact, potassium is never found by itself in nature. It is always bonded to other elements. Once isolated, Davy found potassium to be one of the softer metals with a silver color. Potassium is a little tricky to remember on the periodic table because the symbol is "K". Like sodium (Na) and gold (Au), the symbol is not an abbreviated form of the element's English name. We know where the English name potassium came from, but what about that "K"? The K represents the word Kalium. It is an older term used to describe the element and has its origins in the word "alkali." Like other elements in the first column, potassium is a member of the alkali group with sodium and cesium.
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