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Question

Question: What are all elements made of?...

What are all elements made of?

Explanation

Solution

Matter is divided into mixtures and pure substances. Pure substances are further divided into elements and compounds. Elements combine to form the molecule of a compound.

Complete answer:
Elements are substances that are made up of only one type of atom. Atoms are further made up of electrons and nucleus. The nucleus is made up of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Protons have a positive charge and electrons have a negative charge. Neutrons do not contain any type of charge.
The number of protons in the nucleus is a defining property of an element and is referred to as its atomic number. The atomic number is referred to by the symbol ZZ.
Different types of elements undergo chemical reaction in which atoms are rearranged to produce a new compound. The atoms in these compounds are held together by different types of chemical bonds.
As of November 20162016, IUPAC had recognised a total of 118118 elements in which 9494 occur naturally on earth while the remaining 2424 are synthesised by nuclear reactions.

Additional Information:
In an atom, if the number of electrons and protons are equal, then that atom is considered electrically neutral. On the other hand, if the number of electrons is higher than the number of protons, then the atom is considered negatively charged. And, if the number of protons is higher than the number of electrons then the atom is considered positively charged. A charged atom is known as ion. The size of an atom is extremely small, typically around 100100 picometers.

Note:
The charge on one proton or electron is equal to 1.6×1019C1.6 \times {10^{ - 19}}C. The charge of an electron is written with a negative sign to represent negative charge. Protons and neutrons collectively account for all the mass of an atom. As of now, the scientific community has theorised that protons and neutrons are made up of even small particles called quarks.