The smallest unit of Matter that retains the property of an element is the atom.
Elements cannot be broken down into anything. The smallest unit of anything non-living would be the atom.
They are called "atoms" of that element.
An atom
A molecule is the smallest unit of a pure substance that can exist and still retain its chemical properties. An atom is the smallest unit of an element that can exist and still retain its chemical properties.
A molecule is the smallest unit with the characteristic properties of a molecular substance, i.e., one joined by covalent bonds. A single atom is the smallest unit with the characteristic properties of an elemental substance.
on their own
The smallest particle of matter still retaining the elemental properties of matter is an atom. Atoms have building blocks, and they are protons, electrons and neutrons. But the atom, because it is made of these elemental building blocks, is the furthest we can break matter down and retain the elemental structure.We can further break down the building blocks of matter, the particles that make up the atom, but the resultant particles are not stable. They spontaneously go through changes and disappear.It is not an atom it is a quark
Chlorine(Cl) is considered an element because it is made up of a single type of atom, as opposed to a compound, which is made up of molecules(two atoms joined together by chemical means). An atom of chlorine cannot be separated into a smaller particle that will still retain its original chemical properties, so therefore, chlorine is an element. It is also poisonous to humans. Hope I helped!
A molecule is the smallest part of a compound that still retains the properties of said compound. As the atom is the smallest particle of an element into which it can be divided and still retain all the properties of that element, the molecule is the atom's analog for a compound.
This is the definition of a molecule.
molecule
An atom is the smallest particle of an element that has the properties of that element. The atom consists of a certain amount of electrons, protons and usually neutrons. The amount of each of these sub-atomic particles is what makes an element. No Sub-Atomic Particles have any characterisitics of an element. It is the collective arrangement of electrons and protons (and usually neutrons) which gives an element its characteristics. An atom is the smallest particle that has elemental characteristics.
a molecule can be a compound if it is made of more than one type of atom.
A molecule is the smallest unit of a pure substance that can exist and still retain its chemical properties. An atom is the smallest unit of an element that can exist and still retain its chemical properties.
A molecule is the smallest unit with the characteristic properties of a molecular substance, i.e., one joined by covalent bonds. A single atom is the smallest unit with the characteristic properties of an elemental substance.
This is typically referred to as one atom. However to retain the bulk properties of the element you must have several hundred atoms.
The atom is the smallest particle of an element that retains it's characteristics. Sub-atomic particles such as protons, neutrons and electrons form the atom and it is the amount of each of these sub-atomic particles that make the element that element.
A molecule is the smallest part of a compound that still retains the properties of said compound. As the atom is the smallest particle of an element into which it can be divided and still retain all the properties of that element, the molecule is the atom's analog for a compound.
Carbon atom
This smallest unit of matter is the atom.