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Elements are materials composed of only ONE TYPE of atom, for example oxygen gas, which is O2. There are two atoms in the molecules in the molecule, but they are both oxygen atoms.

In comparison, the gas CO2 gas is a compound because it contains two different kinds of atoms, carbon and oxygen.

Compounds are molecules composed of two or more DIFFERENT types of atoms. For example, water, which is H2O, contains two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom. NaCl, sodium chloride (table salt) contains an atom of sodium and an atom of chlorine.

There are millions of examples; the bottom line is that compounds have to have more than one type of atom in the molecule. Glucose, a sugar we all need to supply cells with chemical energy, is C6H12O6, meaning one molecule of glucose has 6 atoms of carbon, 12 atoms of hydrogen, and 6 atoms of oxygen, so glucose is composed of 3 different elements and thus, it is a compound and not an element.

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