Many of you get confused and want to know about the difference between a molecule and compound, read the article to understand the topic in detail.
A compound is a substance that is composed of two or more different elements while a molecule is formed when two or more atoms of an element chemically join together. A compound is also a molecule but it contains an atom of a minimum of two or more elements.
Read and enhance your knowledge in detail about molecule and compound.
What is a molecule?
A molecule is formed by the bond between atoms of elements. Molecules are formed by the strong bond between two or more interactive atoms and molecules of the same element can exist in solid, liquid or gas form with any size and weight and can be recognized by weight size and arrangements. The smallest amount of a chemical substance that can exist is a molecule.
A molecule can have very different properties from the elements that it is made of such as water behaves very differently than oxygen or hydrogen, as it is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Molecules can be separated during the chemical reaction and can be combined to create larger molecules or can be combined with different types of molecules to form a compound.
What is a Compound?
A compound is a substance which is composed of two or more different elements. A compound contains atoms of different elements chemically combined together in a fixed ratio arranged in a different manner. A compound can be separated into simpler substances by chemical methods.
All compounds can be taken up as molecules and a compound is an actual matter in it complete shape. A compound may have a positive or negative charge. The most commonly used compound is H2O. Compounds are classified into molecular compounds, ionic compounds, intermetallic compounds, and complexes.
Now learn the difference between Molecule and compound for better understanding.
Compositions
The composition of a molecule takes place by a combination of one or more atoms and molecules can exist in a solid, liquid or gaseous state while compounds are made up by a combination of different molecules.
Structure
A molecule is just a group of atoms being tied by the strong force while the compound is an actual matter in its complete shape.
Relevance
Not all molecules are compounds but all compounds can be taken up as molecules.
Charge
A molecule does not have electric charge in its own while a compound may carry a positive or negative charge.
Examples
Examples of the molecule are Water (H2o), oxygen (O2), ozone (O3) and examples of the compound are NaCl, H2O, NaHCO3 etc.