TEKS 6.

5A know that an element is a pure substance represented by a chemical symbol and that a compound is a pure substance represented by a
chemical formula.

ELEMENTS AND COMPOUNDS

Atoms are the basic units of matter. Atoms join together chemically to form
elements or compounds. An element is matter that is composed of only one
kind of atom, such as carbon, silver, sulfur, and iron. Elements are pure
substances and have their own characteristic chemical and physical
properties. Elements are represented by 1-2 letters called chemical symbols
which helps to identify their location on the periodic table of elements.
Chemical symbols are represented using an upper-case letter (H) or an
upper-case and lower-case together (Na). Additionally, elements may have
a small number immediately behind the symbol called a subscript, like O2, to
identify the number of atoms of that element.

Two or more different elements chemically combine to form compounds.

Like elements, compounds are pure substances and have distinct properties.
However, the properties of a compound differ from those of the elements
making up the compound. Compounds are represented by chemical
formulas identifying each element present in that substance and may also
contain subscripts, like H2O.

Chemical Element Justification

Symbol/Formula or Compound

CO2

Fe

SiO2

He

Cl

O2

Passage adapted from: Fusion, Unit 3: Lesson 4, TE, Page 139, 2015