My chemistry teacher marked my answer wrong for spelling the element represented by S as "sulphur" over "sulfur."

Yes. And this was her response:
"I've never seen it spelled this way before. Also I posted the list onto Edmodo [note, this is like facebook for school class stuff] so you should have studied from those."
Beetch, I've known almost all the elements since 7th grade, and my first encounter with Sulphur/Sulfur was in Australia (I was schooled there in 4th grade). Marking off these points simply because YOU spell it differently than the rest of the world doesn't mean *I'M* wrong. That's like an English teacher marking off points because a student wrote "flavour" over "flavor." This isn't a damn English class either. I fawking knew the element she's talking about and spelled it in a technically correct way--a way they use pretty much EVERYWHERE except for the US. Even on US products that contain a sulphur/sulfur compound, they use SULPHUR. I freaking even wrote "Sulphur/Sulfur" since there are two possible spellings of it, and she STILL marked me wrong. Ugh. >.<

Go forward with the idea in your heart that you are correct. don't let it bother you and consider that she is going to be one of many 'teachers' that you will encounter in your lifetime that are not very open to the idea that they are 'wrong'. keep moving forward and do not lose sleep over it. Good luck.

i'd tell her you don't limit your education to just her teachings and you are a very open minded to other teachings around the world. and that is how you were taught. To me it should be like math, as long as it's an actual way to get the answer your method in solving the problem shouldn't matter as long as it's understood that you CAN answer the problem and work through solving it. your teacher's a stubborn crab ash. It's not a spelling issue, it's fricken science! and if you studied the ones you didn't know from the list she gave you, that should be enough, why study something you already know, if it's not broke don't fix it. That's like saying if she asked you how much water was in a container you answered in liters instead of gallons, and that it's wrong simply for not being in the conversion label she knows. no offense but she is an educator, she sould be more open minded to learning. just because "she's never seen it spelled that way" doesn't make it wrong because she doesn't know it. what a twit!

It's not that. I WANT MY POINT BACK. These points may rack up over the quarter to be significant, and I demand that I get points where I duly deserve it >.<

That's why I despise Common Core.
Common Core is *extremely* pedantic in its own sense. 99% of subjects are not pedantic--they're didactic. Common Core ruins a subject so much that it's more or less a brand new subject... dumb teachers. Dumb teachers everywhere.

i've delt with teachers like this all my life, they REALLY push your buttons, and are set in THEIR ways because THEIR way is the ONLY way. and she's a lot of other words i can't post because they turn into these *****

here you go, print this or show her this, she's a horrible teacher if she can't google this in 10 seconds like i did.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur

and this one excplains spelling differences in countries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

here's a more scientific reference http://www.webelements.com/sulfur/

sinply type in "sulfer" on google it says on the side of the page a s a definition:
"Sulfur
Chemical Element
Sulfur or (sulphur) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S₈. Wikipedia
Symbol: S
Electron configuration: Ne 3s2 3p4
Atomic number: 16
Melting point: 239.4°F (115.2°C)
Discovered: 2000 BC
Electrons per shell: 2,8,6
Atomic mass: 32.065 ± 0.005 u"

See, this is what I wrote to her:
Mrs. Ferguson, I still think I should not have lost a point on the quiz for spelling it "sulphur." I learned much of my Periodic Table when I was in 4th grade and schooled in Australia--particularly familiarizing myself with sulfur/sulphur due to visiting various peculiar-smelling parks there. Taking off a point for spelling it "sulphur" would be like taking off a point for spelling it "flavour" instead of "flavor." While "sulfur" is more standardized, many foreign schools--particularly in British and Australian schools--use "sulphur" over "sulfur." Because I use both interchangeably, and since both are acceptable spellings, I wasn't sure which one I had to put down. And I don't think it's fair that I'd have to study *your* list of spellings when I already know most of them by heart (since 7th grade), simply because you've used primarily American texts and are unfamiliar with alternate spellings. As a student that respects the power of proof and reason, if I feel as if I have been unfairly marked down, I shall challenge the decision. One point may not be much, but this could very well rack up over the quarter, and I do not appreciate being unfairly marked down for a purely dialectical reasons. This is a chemistry class, not an English class, for one--and even in an English class, a teacher would not ethically mark off if a student used an alternate spelling of the word. This has been bugging me the entire day, as "sulphur" is a true alternate spelling of "sulfur."

From Wikipedia's List of American and British Spelling Differences:

Sulfur is the preferred spelling by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and by the UK's Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).[173] Sulphur is used by British and Irish scientists, and it is actively taught in British and Irish schools. It prevails in Canada and Australia, and it is also found in some American place names (e.g. Sulphur, Louisiana and White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia). American English usage guides suggest sulfur for technical usage, and both sulfur and sulphur in common usage and in literature.[174][175] The variation between f and ph spellings is also found in the word's ultimate source: Latin sulfur, sulphur.[176]

A true scientist would not mark off points over a dialectal difference--especially when it comes to spelling. I clearly knew what element was in question, and I spelled it using one of the two dialectal variations around the world. If you went to an Australian or a British school, using your method of logic, you'd have gotten marked off for spelling it "sulfur" instead of "sulphur." I do think that, from a scientific perspective, if I'm able to logically argue my choice of terminology or spelling, I should not be marked off for it. It isn't simply about this one point I'm trying to earn back. It's about future points that I may lose for similar reasons. When it comes to the elements, the only dialectal difference I know about is sulfur/sulphur, so I do not refer to this in terms of element quizzes specifically. I'm talking about in general. And just to let you know, if I feel as if I was unfairly marked off, I will always use logic to justify my answer. And here, I feel as if the Sulphur/Sulfur spelling differences is not a good enough reason for you to have marked off on my test.

I just thought I'd let you know that.
Thank you for understanding.
--
Fractal

i think this is very thought out, and logical. in my opinon with this argument, there is no reason for her not to give you the point back. if she does not. you tried to be level headed, reasonable, and mature about this, i'd go over her head, have your parents call her or talk to your principle, or ask another teacher who you can talk to about this. the fact that you even looked up all those logical arguments should prove that you show a thirst for knowledge and you are not trying to limit your education, and should not be penalized for it. best of luck with that.

The only times I've ever lost an argument logically was in AP Lang... before I learned how to write consistently great essays. Nowadays, few dare to get in an argument with me, since it'd be *very* difficult for them to truly win. I have several more cards up my sleeve. So if she doesn't give me the point back with this argument, I can pull out my next card, and so on. My next card would be the fact that just that day, we had to present a flowchart of sorts (really, more like a branching bubble map of sorts) to the class of how we interpreted a list of words. We had to explain why we connected what we connected--which was, in some senses, slightly subjective in nature. This spelling "error" isn't even subjective. If she's ready to listen to logic and reason for subjective choices, surely she should for an objective choice.

That's how to differentiate between science teachers and scientists, math teachers and mathematicians, psychology teachers and psychologists, and so on. For all classes, if you can ask them about topics not in the curriculum and they're glad to talk about it, then they're actually part of that field, and not simply an educator. Very few teachers truly love the subject they teach. My AP Language teacher... very often I'd stay after school just to have discussions with him--since of all the *teachers* I'd expect to enjoy the power of debate, argument, and logic, it'd be the AP Lang teachers... that's essentially what the class itself is about. Theoretically, subject-wise, a true scientist would listen to logic and reason--for instance, whether you found the acceleration of something via the second derivative of the position function or simply graphed it and found it, what matters is that you got the correct end result and your method is consistent. With mathematicians, it's a similar thing as before--there are several methods you could use to prove a conjecture, and as long as your proof is logically and mathematically sound and consistent, there's no incorrect way of finding the answer.

My current math teacher is more of a mathematician than any other math teacher I've had. Most of the time, he cares that we're able to find the answer--not so much about how. Essentially, we rarely have to show our work. We can derive a function using the shortcut, or work it out manually with its formal definition (limit as delta x approaches zero of f of x plus delta x, minus f of x, over delta x), or whatever works for us... as long as the method is consistent and sound. :P

i miss being in school and debating and discussing things with teachers after school. conversation is extremely flat, dull, and boring with other people, and i feel like i get dumber my the day talking to the kind of people with no spark for debate or opinions on anything. or the kind of people who find dumb things facinating, like he said she said stuff, and OMG people that care about superficial stuff. I only have one person to debate with and she's younger than me. and i'm glad she's smarter. one can only be as smart as the people they converse with.

I wish I could block people IRL. Many times I feel that my IQ drops by having to put up with the stupidity I have to tolerate in school :S Why do you think I come and spam intellectual stuff on EP? If I don't, my brain will atrophy, and I can't get the necessary mental stimulation needed IRL...

you would die if you met my brother in law. i kid you not he is the dumbest person i know with no actual mental issue for the reason. poor dumb bastard.

OH GOD x'D