Question

Which would you expect there to be more of, elements or compounds? Explain your answer.

A) More elements seems most likely since there are more than 100 known elements.
B) More compounds is most likely since compounds are made by combining elements, so there are more possible combinations.
C) Elements and compounds must be equally abundant because compounds are made from elements.
D) It is impossible to tell, because nobody knows how many compounds there are.

Answer 1

In nature, elements combine to form compounds, resulting in more compounds than elements.

Step-by-step explanation:

In nature, elements rarely occur alone. Instead, they combine to form compounds. A compound is a substance composed of two or more elements joined by chemical bonds. There are just over 100 known elements, but there are tens of millions of chemical compounds that result from different combinations of these elements. Therefore, we would expect there to be more compounds than elements.