Funeral Service Education (FSE) National Board Practice Exam 2025 - Free Funeral Service Practice Questions and Study Guide

When two or more atoms of different elements combine, they form compounds. Compounds are substances formed through the chemical bonding of two or more different types of atoms. This combination often results in properties that are distinct from the individual elements involved. For example, when hydrogen and oxygen atoms combine, they form water, which has entirely different characteristics than either hydrogen or oxygen alone.

Molecules refer to groups of atoms bonded together, which can include identical atoms (like O2, which is a molecule of oxygen) or different ones. While all compounds are molecules, not all molecules are compounds. Alloys, on the other hand, represent a mixture of two or more metals (or a metal and a non-metal) that retain their properties and are not compounds in the chemical sense. Elements refer to pure substances consisting of only one type of atom and are distinct from compounds formed by combinations of different types of atoms.