chemical elements
Atoms of kinds
Chemical elements are the fundamental substances that make up all matter—pure forms that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by ordinary chemical means.
Each element consists of atoms with the same number of protons: hydrogen has one, carbon has six, gold has seventy-nine.
The periodic table organizes all known elements by atomic structure and properties.
Elements combine to form compounds: water is hydrogen and oxygen, salt is sodium and chlorine.
Scientists have discovered 118 elements so far.
- periodic tableSystematic display of elements
- metalsLustrous conductive elements
- heavy metalsDense metallic environmental contaminants
- ionsAtoms bearing charge
- actinidesRadioactive metallic element series
helium · alkali metals · carbon · carbon footprint · lanthanides · rare earth · isotopes · noble gases · noble metal · minerals · valence electrons · Mendeleev · atomic number · alchemy · oxygen · hydrogen · test tube · platinum
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