Introduction to Chemistry. Search for:. Elements and Compounds. Learning Objective Differentiate between elements and compounds and explore separation techniques. Key Points Elements are the simplest complete chemical substances. Each element corresponds to a single entry on the periodic table. An element is a material that consists of a single type of atom.
Each atom type contains the same number of protons. Chemical bonds link elements together to form more complex molecules called compounds. A compound consists of two or more types of elements held together by covalent or ionic bonds. Elements cannot be divided into smaller units without large amounts of energy. Compounds, on the other hand, can have their bonds broken with practical amounts of energy, such as the heat from a fire.
Matter can be broken down into two categories: pure substances and mixtures. Pure substances are further broken down into elements and compounds. Mixtures are physically combined structures that can be separated back into their original components.
The non-metal elements are located on the right side of the periodic table. They are not malleable, not magnetic, not electro-conductive, and shiny. Two important examples of non-metals are oxygen and carbon. Now comes the medium elements called metalloids. They have some mixed properties of metals and nonmetals. Silicon and arsenic are two metalloids. These are the main properties, classification of elements in chemistry.
A compound is a chemical material consisting of more than one type of atoms. Generally, more than one different kind of element forms a compound. The elements are connected with covalent or ionic bonds in the compounds. Two distinct elements form a bond between their atoms, and they are combined into a chemical compound. For example, we are taking NaCl. Sodium Na and chloride Cl come together and form an ionic bond.
By that bond, they are combined and form Sodium Chloride NaCl. Pure chemical compounds do not exist in the real world. Every chemical compound has a unique structure with a fixed atom ratio. These are some specific types of chemical compounds and they are:. Molecular compounds with the covalent bond. Intermolecular compounds with the metallic bond. Salts with the ionic bond.
Complex compounds with coordinate covalent bonds. Types A huge, virtually limitless, number of chemical compounds can be created. Compounds are classified into molecular compounds, ionic compounds, intermetallic compounds and complexes. There are about elements that have been observed. Can be classified as metal, non-metal or metalloid. Differences in Properties Elements are distinguished by their name, symbol, atomic number, melting point, boiling point, density and ionization energies. Atomic number — the atomic number is denoted by the letter Z and is the number of protons present in the nucleus of the atom of element.
For e. Number of protons is also indicative of electric charge or number of electrons present in the nucleus which determines chemical properties of the element. Atomic Mass — the letter A indicates the atomic mass of the element which is the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom of the element. Isotopes of the same elements differ in their atomic masses. Isotopes — isotopes of an element have the same number of protons in their nucleus but differ in the number of neutrons.
Naturally occurring elements have more than one stable isotope. Thus isotopes have similar chemical properties due to same number of protons but different nuclear properties due to different number of neutrons. Allotropes — atoms of an element can form bonds with each other in more than one way leading to difference in their chemical properties. Visualizing the Differences This picture shows the differences between elements and compounds at an atomic level.
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Contribute to Diffen Edit or create new comparisons in your area of expertise. Log in ». Terms of use Privacy policy. A compound contains atoms of different elements chemically combined together in a fixed ratio. Compounds contain different elements in a fixed ratio arranged in a defined manner through chemical bonds.
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