What is the difference between "atom" and "molecule"? and got the best answer

Answer from Sunrise[expert]
the atom is smaller, there can be several atoms in one molecule (example - 2 hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom = water molecule)

Answer from Diana Mamina[guru]
A molecule is made up of atoms.

Answer from NO[guru]
In addition to common places, also by birth.

Answer from aerial[newbie]
An atom is an electrically neutral system of interacting elements, consisting of a nucleus and electrons. , and a molecule is a compound consisting of 2 or more atoms

Answer from Durchlaucht Furst[guru]
Atom (other Greek ἄτομος - indivisible) - the smallest part of a chemical element, which is the carrier of its properties. An atom consists of an atomic nucleus and an electron cloud surrounding it. The nucleus of an atom consists of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons, and the surrounding cloud consists of negatively charged electrons. If the number of protons in the nucleus coincides with the number of electrons, then the atom as a whole is electrically neutral. Otherwise, it has some positive or negative charge and is called an ion. Atoms are classified according to the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus: the number of protons determines whether an atom belongs to a certain chemical element, and the number of neutrons determines the isotope of this element.
Atoms of various types in various quantities, connected by interatomic bonds, form molecules.
The concept of an atom as the smallest indivisible part of matter was first formulated by ancient Indian and ancient Greek philosophers (see: atomism). In the XVII and XVIII centuries chemists were able to experimentally confirm this idea, showing that some substances cannot be further split into their constituent elements using chemical methods. However, in late XIX At the beginning of the 20th century, physicists discovered subatomic particles and the composite structure of the atom, and it became clear that the atom is not really "indivisible".
Molecule (Novolatin molecula, diminutive of Latin moles - mass) - the smallest particle of a substance that carries its chemical properties.
A molecule is made up of two or more atoms and is characterized by the number of atomic nuclei and electrons, as well as a certain structure.
It is usually understood that the molecules are neutral (carry no electric charges) and do not carry unpaired electrons (all valences are saturated); charged molecules are called ions, molecules with a multiplicity other than unity (that is, with unpaired electrons and unsaturated valences) are called radicals.
Molecules formed by hundreds or thousands of atoms are called macromolecules. Features of the structure of molecules determine physical properties matter made up of these molecules.

Answer from Mariam Abdullah[newbie]
atoms still have an electric charge, while the molecule is neutral

Answer from Murvat Kazymov[newbie]
an atom is what a molecule is made of

The ancient Greeks knew that all substances are composed of particles. Around 420 BC e. The philosopher Democritus suggested that matter is made up of tiny, indivisible particles called atoms. All substances are made up of atoms and molecules. Both the atom and the molecule were initially considered indivisible, and only later it was proved that this was not the case. How is an atom different from a molecule.

atoms are the smallest particles that make up matter.
molecules- it's the same elementary particles that make up any substance.

Comparison of atom and molecule

What is the difference between an atom and a molecule?
An atom is an elementary particle of matter. It has its own mass and size and is responsible for the properties of this substance, as a chemical element. An atom consists of a nucleus and electrons that move in their orbits around the nucleus. It is the structure of the atom that determines the chemical properties of matter. Atoms do not occur in the free state. They bind to each other and form molecules due to the electrical charges of the particles of which they are composed.
A molecule is what a substance is made of. Molecules can contain two or more atoms, which are interconnected by interatomic bonds. More precisely, we can say that the molecule consists of atomic nuclei and internal electrons that move in their orbits, as well as external valence electrons. Different molecules contain a different number of atoms of a certain type and different quantity. The molecule has a complex architectural structure, where each atom has its place and its well-defined neighbors. The properties of a molecule are determined by how many atoms it contains. These properties are affected by the order and configuration of the connection of atoms. The atomic structure that makes up a molecule may be rigid, but not in all cases. Each atom is in constant motion, it oscillates around its equilibrium position. In this case, a free molecule in the process of its thermal motion has various configurations. A molecule is electrically a neutral particle. It is the smallest particle of matter that has its chemical properties. In the case of monatomic molecules, such as inert gases, the properties of the molecule and the atom are the same. Atoms in a molecule are united chemical bonds. Such a bond can be created by one or more pairs of electrons shared by two atoms. A molecule can exist on its own.

How is an atom different from a molecule

Atoms form a molecule. An atom consists of a nucleus and electrons that move in their orbits around the nucleus.
Molecules are made up of atoms.
An atom has an electrical charge, while a molecule is neutral.
Only a molecule can exist on its own.

Many centuries ago, people guessed that any substance on earth consists of microscopic particles. Some time passed, and scientists proved that these particles really exist. They are called atoms. Usually atoms cannot exist separately and are combined into groups. These groups are called molecules.

The very name "molecule" comes from Latin word moles, meaning heaviness, lump, bulk, and a diminutive suffix - cula. Previously, instead of this term, the word “corpuscle” was used, literally meaning “small body”. In order to find out what a molecule is, we turn to explanatory dictionaries. Ushakov's dictionary says that this is the smallest particle that can exist autonomously and has all the properties of the substance to which it refers. Molecules and atoms surround us everywhere, and although they cannot be felt, all we see is actually their giant clusters.

Water example

The best way to explain what a molecule is is with the example of a glass of water. If you pour half of it, then the taste, color and composition of the remaining water will not change. It would be strange to expect something else. If you cast half again, the amount will decrease, but the properties will again remain the same. Continuing in the same spirit, we will eventually get a small droplet. It can still be divided with a pipette, but this process cannot be continued indefinitely.

Ultimately, the smallest particle will be obtained, the remainder from the division of which will no longer be water. In order to imagine what a molecule is and how small it is, try to guess how many molecules are in one drop of water. What do you think? Billion? One hundred billion? In fact, there are about a hundred sextillions there. This is a number that has twenty-three zeros after the one. It is difficult to imagine such a value, so let's use a comparison: the size of one is smaller than a large apple by as many times as the apple itself is smaller. Therefore, it cannot be seen even with the most powerful optical microscope.

and atoms

As we already know, all microscopic particles are in turn made up of atoms. Depending on their number, the orbits of the central atoms, and the type of bonds, the geometric shape of the molecules can be different. For example, human DNA is twisted in the form of a spiral, and the smallest particle of ordinary table salt has the form If a molecule somehow takes away a few atoms, it will be destroyed. In this case, the latter will not go anywhere, but will become part of another microparticle.

After we figured out what a molecule is, let's move on to an atom. Its structure is very reminiscent of a planetary system: in the center is a nucleus with neutrons and positively charged protons, and electrons rotate around in different orbits. In general, the atom is electrically neutral. In other words, the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons.

We hope our article turned out to be useful, and now you no longer have questions about what a molecule and an atom are, how they are arranged and how they differ.

Atom and ion are elementary particles of chemical elements. These particles are the carriers of the properties of the elements. They differ in charges: the atom is neutral, and the ion is positively or negatively charged.

Definition

Atom- an electrically neutral microscopic particle of a chemical element that determines its properties. The center of an atom is a positively charged nucleus surrounded by an electron cloud, along whose orbitals electrons move. Atoms, by gaining or giving up electrons, turn into ions.

ions- microscopic electrically charged, monatomic or polyatomic and chemically active particles. They have a positive (cations) or negative (anions) charge. Ions are formed from atoms or groups of atoms that gain electrons or, conversely, lose them.

Ions are independent particles that occur in any state of aggregation. They are found in gases (in the atmosphere), in crystals, in liquids (both solutions and melts) and in plasma (interstellar space.)

Ions in chemical reactions able to interact with each other, with molecules and atoms. In solutions, these active particles are formed in the process of electrolytic dissociation and determine the properties of electrolytes.

Comparison

An atom is always electrically neutral, an ion, on the contrary, is a charged particle. In atoms, the external energy levels, as a rule, are not completed (the group of noble gases is an exception). The ions have outer levels completed.

An ion, unlike an atom, is not capable of possessing the properties a simple substance. For example, metallic potassium enters into a violent reaction with water, the products of which are hydrogen and alkali. And potassium ions, which are present in the composition of potassium salts, do not have similar properties. Chlorine is a yellow-green toxic gas, and its ions are non-toxic and colorless.

The color of copper is red, and its ions in solutions acquire a blue color. Iodine crystals are gray, vapors are purple, alcohol solution is red-brown, mixed with starch it gives a blue color. Iodine ions cannot change the color of starch, they are colorless.

Findings site

1. Atoms and ions of the same chemical element have different numbers of electrons.
2. The charge of atoms is zero, for ions it can be positive or negative.
3. Ions and atoms have different redox properties.

How are atoms different?

In translation, "atom" means indivisible. It is named so because for a long time it was considered the smallest part of matter. But the further development of science has shown that this is not so. So, let's figure out what an atom consists of and how the atoms of various elements differ.

The structure of the atom

To date, science knows 126 types of chemical elements. Overall plan the structure of their atoms is the same. Each of them has a nucleus, consisting of protons and neutrons, around which electrons revolve. Electrons are negatively charged particles. When they rotate around the nucleus, an electron cloud is formed.

Protons are positively charged particles. At rest, an atom contains the same number of protons and electrons, so such a chemical element does not have electric charge. However, in the process of reactions, it can give an electron to other elements, turning into a positively charged particle, or take them away, becoming a negatively charged particle. Neutrons do not carry any charge, but they affect the mass of an element. For protons and neutrons, a unifying name was coined - nucleons.

Atoms of various elements

Atoms of different elements differ from each other in the number of protons in the nucleus. The number of electrons can change, but protons never. How many protons are contained in the nucleus, you can find out by the serial number of the element in the periodic system of Mendeleev. Hydrogen (No. 1) has 1 electron and 1 proton at rest, lithium
(No. 3) - 3 electrons and 3 protons, carbon (No. 6) - 6 electrons and 6 protons.

Since the number of protons in different atoms is different, their masses also differ. The mass of an element is mainly formed by protons and neutrons, because the weight of electrons is negligible. But even for atoms of the same element, the weight may differ due to the different number of neutrons in the nucleus. Atoms that have a different number of neutrons than protons are called isotopes. For example, in nature there are carbon atoms C12 (6 protons and 6 neutrons), C13 (6 protons and 7 neutrons) and other varieties with a neutron content from 2 to 16.