Question

What is the difference between an element and a compound?

Answer 1

Hint: You can start by discussing the basic points of difference between elements and compounds including points like whether they exist independently, whether they make a bond with other entities, whether they can be divided further and whether it is a pure substance or a mixture.

Complete step by step answer:
The difference between an element and a compound is:
Elements are the small chemical species that can exist independently. For example – Carbon ( $C$ ), Oxygen ( $O$ ), etc. Compounds on the other hand are formed when two or more elements combine. For example – Carbon dioxide ( $C{O_2}$ ), Carbon monoxide ( $CO$ ).

In elements, an atom does not have any bonding with any other atom, whereas, in compounds, two or more atoms are bonded together by chemical bonds which can be ionic bonds (formed by the complete transfer of valence electrons between two atoms) or covalent bonds (formed by sharing of valence electrons between two atoms) or any other bond.
As explained earlier atoms are the smallest chemical species that can exist independently, so you cannot divide them into small entities without using large amounts of energy. Whereas, the bonds in a compound can be broken with a relatively smaller amount of energy.
As you may only already know that matter can be divided into two different categories: pure substance and mixture. Both elements and compounds are both pure substances. Mixtures on the other hand are essentially a combination of two or more atoms or compounds.

Note: In the solution above, in the fourth point, we discussed that elements cannot be further divided. But a vital piece of information is to remember that elements can be further divided into subsequent entities like electrons, protons, and neutrons if we use a large amount of energy. This is generally achieved with the help of an instrument called a particle accelerator.