Element
A substance made of only one kind of atom. Each element has its own symbol, such as O for oxygen.
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Analogy
An element is like a bag holding only red Lego bricks.
Example
Hydrogen = HCarbon = CSodium = NaIron = Fe
In practice
Gold, iron, oxygen and carbon are all elements. There are about 118 known.
Practice
Flashcards
- What is an element?A substance made of only one type of atom.
Interview questions
- Describe the difference between an element, a compound and a mixture, with one example of each.
- Element has one type of atom
- Compound has different atoms chemically bonded
- Mixture is not chemically bonded
- Mixtures can be separated physically
Questions people ask
How many elements are there?
There are 118 elements on the periodic table. About 90 occur naturally on Earth. The rest were made by scientists in laboratories and last only a tiny fraction of a second. Each element has a different number of protons in its atoms.
Why do some element symbols not match their English names?
Some symbols come from old Latin names. Sodium is Na from natrium, iron is Fe from ferrum and gold is Au from aurum. Symbols have one capital letter, and a second letter if there is one is always lower case, so Co (cobalt) differs from CO.