Elements & Compounds

ELEMENT

An element is a substance that has only one type of atom. An element is a pure substance as it cannot be broken down or transformed into a new substance even through physical or chemical means. Elements are mostly metals, non-metals, or metalloids.

COMPOUND

Compounds, are also pure substances, when two or more elements are combined chemically in a fixed ratio. However, these substances can be broken down into separate elements by chemical methods. A compound can be represented by a chemical formula which indicates the elements that the compound is made up of and the ratio in which they are combined for example, sodium chloride it is composed of sodium and chloride in a ratio of 1:1 and, methane which is composed of carbon and hydrogen in a ratio of 1:4. The properties of a compound are fixed and are different from the properties of the individual elements that form the compound. Example, hydrogen and oxygen are both gases at room temperature however water is a liquid.