How Do You Distinguish Between An Atom & An Element?
Being able to differentiate between atoms and elements is a concept that is difficult for many people to grasp. This is usually confusing to people because elements are generally made of atoms that match their element, such as gold being comprised of gold atoms and lead being made up of lead atoms. Although this may sound confusing, it does not have to be. Here is how to distinguish between an atom and an element. How to Distinguish Between an Atom and an Element Step 1 Understand what an element is. An element is a substance that is composed of a single type of atom. For example, carbon is made up entirely of carbon atoms. Elements are a base substance and cannot be split into two or more simpler substances. There are currently 117 different elements known to the scientific community, which are organized on the periodic table of elements. Step 2 Know what an atom is. An atom is the smallest unit in an element, or in any other form of matter. All matter is made up of atoms. Since every
