What is the difference between an atom and an element?
1 Answer
Jul 17, 2014
Good question!
Elements are made up of atoms.
Atoms are composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
The number of protons in an atom determines what element it is.
However, the number of neutrons can vary. For example, carbon atoms all have 6 protons. However, carbon-12 has six neutrons while carbon-13 has seven and carbon-14 has eight. (Yes--if you do the math, the number of protons plus the number of neutrons are what define a given isotope--but that is another question.)
So every element is composed of atoms with a set number of protons. However, atoms with a set number of protons can have different numbers of neutrons and still be the same element.
O.K.?
