How do atoms relate to molecules. How many atoms specify a molecule?
2 Answers
Well, just the one atom if it is the right atom....
Explanation:
A molecule is a discrete chemical unit that is composed of ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE or more atoms.......
The Noble gases form a set of atomic molecules...i.e.
The air we breathe now is composed of diatomic molecules, i.e.
The number of atoms is unimportant, as long as it is more than one. What is important is the type of atom.
Explanation:
A molecule is a particle consisting of two or more atoms that are bound together with a covalent bond. This is a bond where atoms "share" one or more electrons, in contrast to an ionic bond where one atom "steals" one or more electrons from another atom.
Atoms that can share electrons with each other are all in the non-metal section of the periodic table, on the right hand side:
Molecules can be as simple as two atoms:
More complex, like glucose:
or very complex, like a protein with thousands of individual atoms.
Molecules are distinct from ionic compounds, which often form between a metal and a non-metal (eg
