What are the Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures?

Element

An element is a pure substance, which is made up of only one kind of atoms. It cannot be further reduced to simpler substances by any physical or chemical methods. An atom is the smallest unit of an element.

Elements are classified into metals, non-metals, metalloids, and noble gases.

Compound

A compound is a pure substance made up of two or more different elements combined chemically in a fixed proportion. Example of atoms of different elements forming a compound.

Example: Atoms of Sodium and Chlorine combine together to form Sodium Chloride, NaCl (compound)

Na + Cl --> NaCl

Mixture

A mixture is a substance prepared by combining two or more different materials in such a way that no chemical reaction occurs. Some examples of mixtures are a tossed salad, dirt, water and sand, sand, water and gravel (Cement), and so on.

A Mixture can be homogeneous or heterogeneous.