Atoms, Elements, Compounds and Mixtures

Atom are the smallest bits of ordinary matter and are made from particles called protons (which carry a positive electrical charge), neutrons (which carry no electrical charge) and electrons (which carry a negative electrical charge). The protons and neutrons cluster together in the central part of the atom, called the nucleus, and the electrons 'orbit' the nucleus. A particular atom will have the same number of protons and electrons and most atoms have at least as many neutrons as protons.

An element is a substance that is made entirely from one type of atom. For example, the element hydrogen is made from atoms containing just one proton and one electron. If you had very, very good eyes and could look at the atoms in a sample of hydrogen, you would notice that most of the atoms have no neutrons, some of them have one neutron and a few of them have two neutrons. These different versions of hydrogen are called isotopes. All isotopes of a particular element have the same number of protons, but can have different numbers of neutrons. If you change the number of protons an atom has, you change the type of element it is. If you change the number of neutrons an atom has, you make an isotope of that element. All known elements are arranged on a chart called the Periodic Table of Elements.

A compound is a substance made from two or more different elements that have been chemically joined. Some examples of compounds are water (H₂O), table salt (NaCl), table sugar (C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁) and chalk (CaCO₃).

A mixture is a substance made by combining two or more different materials in such a way that no chemical reaction occurs. A mixture can usually be separated back into its original components. Some examples of mixtures are a tossed salad, salt water and a mixed bag of M&M's candy.