Archive Question #0069

What is the difference between molecules, atoms and particles?

A particle is a component of an atom. Atoms consist of either neutrons, protons and electrons. An atom on its own appears as an element in the periodic table.

A molecule is made up of one or more atoms which can be either the same or different. Molecules can be either elements (like a molecule of oxygen) or a compound (like a molecule of water which contains hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio of 2:1 - H20 - see?).

There are lots of good chemistry sites to get you started on this - we would go for the CheMystery site which is listed on the HomeWork Elephant Chemistry pages.

James

Right, Molecules are made up of the SAME element and can be ranging from 1 to about 4 of the same element. This all depends on the number of electrons the atom has. An atom is the form that the actual element is. This is made up of 2 parts, the nucleus and the electronic shells. The nucleus contains protons and neutrons ONLY, this makes up the heaviest bit of the atom. The electronic shells are the lightest bit of the atom and the mass is not recorded in the Periodic table. A particle is a number of atoms in a substance. My teacher is constantly on about reactions between 2 elements or compounds involving the particles of the substance. Hope that lot all helps, if a bit long-winded(!) Have fun,

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I don't know about particles but I know that molecules are made up of 2 atoms a common molecule is H2 O, which is water.

Joanne

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