What is the smallest particle of an element?
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an atom- it is the smallest possible particle of an element that retains the properties of that element.\n\nan atom, being the smallest particle of an element is still composed of smaller particles: \n          • protons - particles with a weight or mass of 1 \n            amu (atomic mass unit) and has 1 positive \n            charge \n          • neutrons - particles with 1 amu and no charge \n            (neutral) \n          • electrons - particles with almost no mass \n            (almost 0 amu) and has 1 negative charge
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1 electron, 0 neutrons
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An atom is the smallest unit of any observable thing you can have. Atoms make up almost everything we can see.\n\nIt's name is Greek for 'Indivisable' but we have since found that atoms are made of protons, neutrons and electrons (and the first two are made of even smaller particles).\n\nAn element is a substance that is entirely comprised by only one type of atom. Gold, Tin and Oxygen are elements because they are made entirely of Gold, Tin and Oxygen atoms.\n\nMolecules and Compounds are similar in that they are made up of two or more atoms of different elements in a precise and defined ratio. Atoms in compounds can be ionically bonded. Molecules are, generally, covalently bonded.
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The cell is still made up of many atoms, thats the only irrefutable link there. And the atom is not the elementary essential of matter, if by elementary essential you are referring to the smallest constituent of a matter. Atom is made of of sub-particles: protons, electrons, neutrons, quarks... And these are further made up of smaller sub-particles (our knowledge are always limited). Proton and nuetron have masses and volumes. Doesnt that mean they are matter too?
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They are known as the fundamental particles of an atom.\n\nIn the nucleus, the PROTONS, which have the + charge, and the NEUTRONS, which have the 0 charge.\n\nOutside the nucleus, the ELECTRONS, which have the - charge.\n\nBut research has it that there are more particles of an atom like the quark, antiquark, lepton, antilepton
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Democritus basically coined the original atomic theory.  He stated that the atom was the smallest particle that things are made from, and that is cannot be divided into smaller units.  He turned out to be wrong, but was a few thousand years ahead of his time, no less.
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empty and filled\n\nIt can be both empty or filled dependign on which shell you consider to be the outer shell. The outer shell can be the outermost shell to contain electrons, which is filled. Or it can be the next outermost shell, which is empty in an atom but could become the valence shell in an ion.
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The atoms increase in size as you move down the group, because each atom has an additional energy level or shell that contains the valence electron.\n\nWhen atom of group one metals form ions, they lose the valence electron, which causes them to decrease in size.\n\nThe smallest ion will be at the top of the column, since it starts out as the smallest atom,  and the largest ion will be at the bottom.
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The electrons in the first orbit has the least potential energy. The further from the nucleus the orbit is, the more potential energy it's electrons possess.
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CHEMISTRY I: ATOMS AND MOLECULES\nTable of Contents\nAtoms | Electrons and energy | Chemical Bonding | Chemical reactions and molecules\n\nLearning Objectives | Terms | Review Questions | Links\nAtoms | Back to Top\n\nMost of the Universe consists of matter and energy. Energy is the capacity to do work. Matter has mass and occupies space. All matter is composed of basic elements that cannot be broken down to substances with different chemical or physical properties. Elements are substances consisting of one type of atom, for example Carbon atoms make up diamond, and also graphite. Pure (24K) gold is composed of only one type of atom, gold atoms. Atoms are the smallest particle into which an element can be divided. The ancient Greek philosophers developed the concept of the atom, although they considered it the fundamental particle that could not be broken down. Since the work of Enrico Fermi and his colleagues, we now know that the atom is divisible, often releasing tremendous energies as in nuclear explosions or (in a controlled fashion in) thermonuclear power plants.\n\nSubatomic particles were discovered during the 1800s. For our purposes we will concentrate only on three of them. The proton is located in the center (or nucleus) of an atom, each atom has at least one proton. Protons have a charge of +1, and a mass of approximately 1 atomic mass unit (amu). Elements differ from each other in the number of protons they have, e.g. Hydrogen has 1 proton; Helium has 2.\n\nThe neutron also is located in the atomic nucleus (except in Hydrogen). The neutron has no charge, and a mass of slightly over 1 amu. Some scientists propose the neutron is made up of a proton and electron-like particle.\n\nThe electron is a very small particle located outside the nucleus. Because they move at speeds near the speed of light the precise location of electrons is hard to pin down. Electrons occupy orbitals, or areas where they have a high statistical probability of occurring. The charge on an electron is -1. Its mass is negligible (approximately 1800 electrons are needed to equal the mass of one proton).\n\nThe atomic number is the number of protons an atom has. It is characteristic and unique for each element. The atomic mass (also referred to as the atomic weight) is the number of protons and neutrons in an atom. Atoms of an element that have differing numbers of neutrons (but a constant atomic number) are termed isotopes. Isotopes can be used to determine the diet of ancient peoples by determining proportions of isotopes in mummified or fossilized human tissues. Biochemical pathways can be deciphered by using isotopic tracers. The age of fossils and artifacts can be determined by using radioactive isotopes, either directly on the fossil (if it is young enough) or on the rocks that surround the fossil 9for older fossils like dinosaurs). Isotopes are also the source of radiation used in medical diagnostic and treatment procedures.\n\nNote that each of these isotopes of hydrogen has only one proton. Isotopes differ from each other in the number of neutrons, not in the number of protons. Image from Purves et al., Life: The Science of Biology, 4th Edition, by Sinauer Associates (www.sinauer.com) and WH Freeman (www.whfreeman.com), used with permission.\n\nSome isotopes are radioisotopes, which spontaneously decay, releasing radioactivity. Other isotopes are stable. Examples of radioisotopes are Carbon-14 (symbol 14C), and deuterium (also known as Hydrogen-2; 2H). Stable isotopes are 12C and 1H.\n\nCarbon has three isotopes, of which carbon-12 and carbon-14 are the most well known. Image from Purves et al., Life: The Science of Biology, 4th Edition, by Sinauer Associates (www.sinauer.com) and WH Freeman (www.whfreeman.com), used with permission.\n\nThe Periodic Table of the Elements provides a great deal of information about various elements. An on-line Periodic Table is available by clicking here, or if that is busy try a mirror site.\n\nThe Periodi
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no one really knows yet.\n\nalthough, at one point, people thought atoms were the smallest particles, now we know about protons, neutrons, and electrons (and now there's a theory that they're made out of something called quarks, but no one really knows what they are)... it's only a matter of time until we find out what they're all made of... and what those things are made of... and what those things are made of... and so on (I seriously doubt it ever ends... like the universe)
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Mass. Even photons have a tiny amount of mass due to relativity.\n\nYou were probably thinking of God or Spirits or something else like that, but mass fits your riddle. Do I get ten points?
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The atomic number is representative of the number of protons in the nucleus.  The atomic mass is representative of the number of total particles in the nucleus, which is made up solely of protons and neutrons.  That means that (35 total particles)-(17 protons)=18 neutrons.
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i think...\nthe atom is the smallest thing u will ever find, it doesnt divide into anything. so when you cut it up, or split it, it kind of explodes. so an atom bomb is alot of atoms exploding at the same time. funny how the smallest things in the world cause the biggest damage possible, huh?
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If the concentration of the reactants is equal, it will be A. The smallest
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sodium ions are one short in electrons than the sodium atoms while number of protons remain the same .Hence the nucleus exerts extra attractive force on the electrons resulting in the shrinking of the size of the ion.
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Neutron, proton, and electron... though there are other sub-atomic particles making up these basic three.