Understanding Elements in Chemistry: The Building Blocks of Matter

In the context of chemistry, an element is a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical means. Elements are the building blocks of matter, and they are the simplest substances that can exist. For example, hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen are all elements. These elements can combine in various ways to form more complex substances, such as water (H2O) or proteins (Cx(COOH)y).

Elemental refers to something that is composed of only one element, meaning it is made up of only one type of atom. For example, a piece of pure gold is elemental gold because it is composed only of gold atoms. In contrast, a mixture of different elements, such as iron and carbon, is not elemental because it contains more than one type of atom.