Element

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An element is a part of something, which when joined to other elements, makes up a new thing.

A chemical element is a substance which cannot be divided into smaller chemical parts. 115 different chemical elements are known to modern chemistry. 94 of these elements occur in Nature, the others can only be made by scientists in laboratories.

Classification

Elements can be classified based on physical states. At room temperature and pressure, most elements are solids, only 11 are gases and 2 are liquids.

Elements can also be classified into metals and non-metals. There are many more metals than non-metals.

However, a few elements have properties in between those of metals and non-metals. These elements are called semi-metals (or metalloids).