The need for an atom

You may have heard of an Atom.

Can you make it in your copy?

Now that we have understood elements and compunds, let us find out how they react with each other. But first, we need to understand what is an atom.

An atom is the smallest particle of an element. We cannot see it with the naked eye. And usually they do not exist in their free state.

Take hydrogen gas for instance. If we imagine that we have the smallest particle of gas, you will get two hydrogen atoms combined together.

When two or more atoms are combined together, we call it a molecule.

Why is it that under normal temperature and pressure, we find molecules of Hydrogen and Oxygen - not atoms?

Atoms do not combine only with atoms of their own element.

Take salt for instance - if we take the smallest particle/unit of salt, we will find an atom of sodium and an atom of chlorine combined in it.

The smallest particle of water will have two atoms of hydrogen combined with one atom of oxygen.

The smallest particle/unit of water and salt will also be called a molecule since it has more than one atom combined in it.

There are several such examples which we shall discuss later.

Let's go back to a question we raised a little earlier -

1.     Why cannot atoms of most of the elements exist independently? 

 

2.     When an atom combines with atoms of other elements, what is it able to achieve?

If we find answers to these questions, we might be able to understand the chemically reactive nature of elements and the formation of compounds. 

Moreover, we might uncover a very big secret of Nature!