1.1.1 Atoms, Elements and Compounds

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In this lesson, you will learn how atoms make up all substances and how different types of atoms form elements. You will explore chemical symbols and the periodic table, discover how atoms bond to form compounds, and understand how chemical reactions are represented using word and balanced symbol equations.

Atoms, Elements and their Symbols

Every object or substance around us is made of very very small particles called atoms. There are different types of atoms which we call elements. You can also think of elements as substances made of only one type of atom. You are likely already familiar with many elements like iron, gold and oxygen.

**Figure 1.** The elements iron (**\( \ce{Fe}\)**), gold (**\( \ce{Au}\)**) and oxygen (**\( \ce{O}\)**) and their corresponding chemical symbols. Iron and gold are shown as ingots since they are metals, while oxygen is shown inside a canister since it is a gas.

Different elements have different properties, for example iron and gold are solids at room temperature, while oxygen is a gas. We represent atoms of each element with a unique one or two letter symbol called a chemical symbol, a few examples of which you can see in Figure 1. We can also refer to chemical symbols as atomic symbols. All the elements that we know of and their chemical symbols can be found in the periodic table, shown below in Figure 2.

**Figure 2.** The periodic table, showing all known atoms and their corresponding chemical symbol.

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The periodic table shown in Figure 1 above will be the one you are given in your exam, so make sure you are familiar with it!

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GCSE

Chemistry

1. Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table

1.1.1 Atoms, Elements and Compounds

Atoms, Elements and their Symbols

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