What Is The Difference Between Atoms, Molecules And Ions?
An atom is the smallest unit of an element. Atoms are involved in chemical reactions to produce other elements or compounds. An atom is made up of sub-particles including electrons, protons and neutrons. Electron is a negative particle, protons is a positive charge particle and a neutron is neutral or has no charge on it. In an atom, nucleus consists of protons and neutrons. Electrons revolve around the nucleus in an atom. A molecule is made up of two or more atoms. The atoms in a molecule are represented by a chemical formula. A molecule is the smallest particle of a compound. The molecules of a compound can be made up of same atoms or atoms of different elements. When an atom loses or gains electrons, ion is formed. When an atom loses its electron, the number of electrons becomes less than the number of protons in the atom, so the negative ion is formed. When atom gains an electron, negative ion is formed due to the increase in number of electrons.
