{"id":90118,"date":"2026-11-02T21:43:05","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T21:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jlindemann.se\/homepage\/?p=90118"},"modified":"2026-11-03T07:08:28","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T07:08:28","slug":"what-is-an-element","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jlindemann.se\/homepage\/what-is-an-element\/","title":{"rendered":"What is an element?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everything you breathe or touch have one thing in common. They are all built from elements, the basic ingredients of everything around you. This guide will give you an overview of what an element actually is and why a single number decided which one you&#8217;re looking at!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Inside an atom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everything is made out of atoms, and every atom is built out of three kinds of particles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><th>Particle<\/th><th>Charge<\/th><th>Mass (compared with a proton)<\/th><th>Where it is<\/th><\/tr><tr><td>Proton<\/td><td>+1<\/td><td>1<\/td><td>In the nucleus, at the centre<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Neutron<\/td><td>0<\/td><td>About 1<\/td><td>In the nucleus<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Electron<\/td><td>\u22121<\/td><td>About 1\/1836<\/td><td>Around the nucleus<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The core of every atom is a nucleus, which holds almost all of the atom&#8217;s mass. This atomic nuclei consists of electrically positive protons and electrically neutral neutrons. The nucleus makes up less than .01% of the volume of the atom, but contains more than 99.9% of the mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Source:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/science\/doe-explainsnuclei\">https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/science\/doe-explainsnuclei<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/chem.libretexts.org\/Bookshelves\/Introductory_Chemistry\/Introductory_Chemistry_(LibreTexts)\/04%3A_Atoms_and_Elements\/4.05%3A_Elements-_Defined_by_Their_Number_of_Protons\">https:\/\/chem.libretexts.org\/Bookshelves\/Introductory_Chemistry\/Introductory_Chemistry_(LibreTexts)\/04%3A_Atoms_and_Elements\/4.05%3A_Elements-_Defined_by_Their_Number_of_Protons<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">One number decides the element<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What matters is how many protons are in the nucleus. That count is called the atomic number, written as <strong><em>Z<\/em><\/strong>. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), defines an element as all atomis with the same number of protons in the nucleus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>1 proton \u2192 always <strong>hydrogen<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>6 protons \u2192 always <strong>carbon<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>79 protons \u2192 always <strong>gold<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the number of protons is changed, the element will be a different one. However, changing other particles still results in the same element, bu ast:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Electrons<\/strong> \u2013 gain or lose some and you get an <em>ion<\/em>, a charged atom (Guide 11).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Neutrons<\/strong> \u2013 gain or lose some and you get an <em>isotope<\/em>. Carbon-12 and carbon-14 are both carbon (Guide 17).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The word &#8220;element&#8221; also gets used for pure substances, such as e.g. a lump of gold. However, IUPAC notes that the substance is strictly called an <em>elementary substance<\/em>, but in everyday chemistry both meanings are called an element.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Source:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/goldbook.iupac.org\/terms\/view\/C01022\">https:\/\/goldbook.iupac.org\/terms\/view\/C01022<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How many elements are there?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are 118 known elements, numbered 1 (hydrogen) to 118 (oganesson). The last four, nihonium (113), moscovium (115), tennessine (117) and oganesson (118), received their official names from IUPAC on 28 November 2016, which completed the periodic table&#8217;s seventh row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where do the elements come from?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Almost all of the hydrogen and helium in the universe formed in the first minutes after the Big Bang. However, heavier elements were forged later. Stars fuse lighter nuclei into elements up to iron and exploding stars (supernova) created the elements that are heavier than iron. E.g. the carbon in your body and the iron in your blood were once made inside a star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Source<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/iupac.org\/iupac-announces-the-names-of-the-elements-113-115-117-and-118\/\">https:\/\/iupac.org\/iupac-announces-the-names-of-the-elements-113-115-117-and-118\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scholastic.com\/nasawebb\/pdfs\/StarPowerReadingPassage.pdf\">https:\/\/www.scholastic.com\/nasawebb\/pdfs\/StarPowerReadingPassage.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Try it in Atomic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tap <strong>hydrogen (H)<\/strong>, then <strong>helium (He)<\/strong>, then <strong>lithium (Li)<\/strong>. Watch the atomic number rise by one each time: one more proton.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Open <strong>gold (Au)<\/strong> and find its atomic number. How many protons, and how many electrons in a neutral gold atom?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scroll to the bottom-right corner of the table and open <strong>oganesson (Og)<\/strong>, element 118.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Open the isotope table and look up <strong>carbon<\/strong>. Every row has 6 protons; only the neutrons change.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Check yourself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. What decides which element an atom is?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A) The number of neutrons<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>B) The number of protons<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>C) The number of electrons<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. An atom has 8 protons, 8 neutrons and 10 electrons. What is it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A) An oxygen ion<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>B) A neon atom<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>C) An oxygen isotope<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. Where were most elements heavier than iron made?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A) In the Big Bang<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>B) In ordinary stars like the Sun<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>C) In supernova<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Show answers<\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1. B \u00b7 2. A \u00b7 3. C<\/p>\n<\/details>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everything you breathe or touch have one thing in common. They are all built from elements, the basic ingredients of everything around you. This guide will give you an overview of what an element actually is and why a single number decided which one you&#8217;re looking at! Inside an atom Everything is made out of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90119,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[50],"tags":[55,51,58],"class_list":["post-90118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","tag-beginner","tag-chemistry","tag-introduction"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paQrWz-nrw","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":90127,"url":"https:\/\/jlindemann.se\/homepage\/how-to-read-an-element-tile\/","url_meta":{"origin":90118,"position":0},"title":"How to read an element tile","author":"Jonatan Lindemann","date":"November 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Why does carbon's overview say 12.011 and not just 12? Every square on the periodic table packs the same few facts into a tiny space. Once you know how to read one tile, you can easilty understand all 118. 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Here is what makes it different.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Atomic&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Atomic","link":"https:\/\/jlindemann.se\/homepage\/category\/atomic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90104,"url":"https:\/\/jlindemann.se\/homepage\/helium-found-on-the-sun-first\/","url_meta":{"origin":90118,"position":3},"title":"The element found on the Sun before the Earth","author":"Jonatan Lindemann","date":"November 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Helium is the only element discovered in space before anyone found it on Earth. 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Over 100,000 downloads later, it has grown into a full chemistry reference used by students, teachers, and working chemists. Version 5.0.0 is the biggest release so far. 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