Identifying the differences between elements and compounds

Pure chemical substances found in nature are made up by Elements and Compounds. They
share the qualities of being both pure and homogeneous substances. They are also similar in
being made up of atoms and having bonds linking their atoms together. Despite the
similarities between elements and compounds, there are several aspects which differ the two.

The total numbers

The first difference between elements and compounds are their total numbers. As of today, a
total of 118 chemical elements are known to exist. From all 118, the first 94 occur naturally
on Earth, and the remaining 24 are synthetic elements produced in nuclear reactions. On the
other hand, the total number of compounds are nearly limitless because we can mix almost
every elements to create a compound. The reason for this nearly limitless number are the
ability of elements, especially Carbon, to link up with as many as four other atoms of another
element to create variety of combinations. In contrast, elements are limited because they
occured naturally in the nature and to create a new one is extremely difficult and expensive.

The representations

The second difference between elements and compounds are how they are represented. While
elements are represented using symbols. In contrast, compounds are represented using its
chemical formula that represents the symbols of its constituent elements and the number of
atoms of each element in one molecule of the compound. For example the Carbon is
represented by the symbol of C, while Carbondioxide is represented by the formula of CO2
because its molecules consist of one carbon atom joined to two oxygen atoms.

The ability to breakdown

The third difference between elements and compounds are their ability to breakdown.
Elements cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical reactions, while
compound can be separated into simpler substances by chemical methods/reactions. The
reason for this, is that elements are made of one atom and it is impossible to breakdown an
atom. On the other hand, compounds are mixture of elements. By using heat or electricity, we
can breakdown compunds into either smaller compounds or into their basic elements. An
example of this is when we open a bottle of soda. Closed soda bottle contains the compound
carbonic acid, or H2CO3. When we pop it open, the carbonic acid decomposes into water
(H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2), which provides the bubbles.