Which term represents the smallest unit of an element that retains its properties?

Which term represents the smallest unit of an element that retains its properties?

• A. Protons
• B. Neutron
• C. Atom
• D. Radioactive waste

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that the element’s identity and its chemical properties come from the atom, the smallest unit that still shows those characteristics. An atom combines a nucleus of protons and neutrons with an electron cloud, and this whole unit determines how the element behaves in reactions. If you break the atom into smaller pieces, you no longer have the same unit that exhibits the element’s properties—the subatomic particles alone don’t carry the element’s full chemical identity. Radioactive waste is unrelated to the fundamental unit that defines an element. So the term that best fits is atom.

The key idea is that the element’s identity and its chemical properties come from the atom, the smallest unit that still shows those characteristics. An atom combines a nucleus of protons and neutrons with an electron cloud, and this whole unit determines how the element behaves in reactions. If you break the atom into smaller pieces, you no longer have the same unit that exhibits the element’s properties—the subatomic particles alone don’t carry the element’s full chemical identity. Radioactive waste is unrelated to the fundamental unit that defines an element. So the term that best fits is atom.