Final answer:
An element is a chemical substance that can't be divided into other substances by ordinary chemical means, with atoms as its smallest unit. Compounds are made up of two or more elements chemically bonded, with fixed ratios of atoms, like in glucose. Quantum mechanics underpins the behaviors and interactions at the atomic level.
Step-by-step explanation:
An element is a substance that cannot be broken down into other substances through chemical means. The basic unit of an element is the atom, which retains the unique properties of that element. In contrast, a compound is formed when two or more elements are joined by chemical bonds. For instance, glucose, a vital body fuel, is always made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in the precise ratio of six carbon atoms and six oxygen atoms to twelve hydrogen atoms. These specific counts of atoms reflect the compound's consistent composition regardless of circumstance.
While most elements exist with individual atoms as their basic units, molecules are the smallest units of compounds. The behavior of materials at the atomic level is governed by quantum mechanics, which confirms that matter is composed of atoms, and atoms are made of a central nucleus surrounded by electrons. Electrons carry electric charge in small units which contribute to the electrical phenomena we observe every day.