Sometimes it is difficult to locate an element on the periodic table. finding elements would be much easier if the elements were listed in alphabetical order. why aren't the elements listed in alphabetical order? a. the elements are listed in the order in which they were discovered. b. the names are not as important as the number of protons each atom has. c. the elements are listed alphabetically according to the greek alphabet. d. the names and the symbols are sometimes different, and this would cause confusion.