Question: whats an atom?

Melissa Kapulu answered on 23 Sep 2014:

@223heaa23 I have not had to think of what an atom is for a long time. But here is a short at trying to give you an answer at the top of my head.
An atom is simply the most basic unit of an element or a chemical matter. If you think of matter or an element, it is made up of single units that come together and form the element (or matter). So for example, if you think of carbon, which is one of the most abundant element and probably one of the most used though it is not a metal, is made up of units which you can call atoms. These units/atoms are made up of protons, electrons and neutrons. The protons and neutrons make up the nucleus of the atom whilst the electrons surround this nucleus. All these three together make up the atom. So each element has a unique number of atoms because they have a unique number of protons, neutrons and electrons. So if we go back to Carbon, it has an atomic number of 6 which simply is the number of protons found in the nucleus of the atom.
You can liken this to the biological cell, which is also the basic unit of a living organism. However it is also made up of a nucleus. A group of cells form an organ and a group of organs form an organism. So also, an atom comes together with other atoms to form an element and an element forms bonds with other elements to form a compound.
Hope I have been able to answer your question @223heaa23 and helped you to think about other similar examples in nature. You have really got me thinking on this one. Thank you 🙂