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.?
