Elements and the periodic table are integral to Chemistry, and for that matter, well, matter, as everything is made up of elements, which are made up of atoms (except the living bodies, which are made up of cells). Water is made up of two hydrogen atoms, and one oxygen atom. Oxygen gas is made up of oxygen ions. Carbon dioxide is made up of a carbon atom and two oxide ions, which can told from the prefix "di". An interesting compound to note is dihydrogen monoxide. It may sound intimidating, but it only refers to H2O, or water. This caused a scare, and the problem was that people did not understand, and assumed that it was something poisonous. This has taught me to find out the full situation first, in case I get it wrong.
As of May 2011, 118 elements have been identified, and of the 118, only the first 94 are known to occur naturally on earth. Of these 94, 80 are stable, and the rest are radioactive. Additional elements with higher atomic numbers have also been created technologically, as the products of nuclear reactions.
Each element has an atomic number, as well as an atomic mass, which represent different things. The atomic number represents the number of protons in the element's atom. The atomic mass is the number of protons, with the addition of the number of neutrons. There are also electrons, but the number of electrons is the same as the number of protons. Protons have a positive charge, while neutrons are neutral. Electrons are negative, and that is so as to balance off the positive charge, and create a neutral atom.
Chemistry has been an interesting topic, and I hope to be able to learn more about it.
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