What is a molecule?
A molecule is a group of one or more atoms, the same or different, held together by chemical bonds, forming a stable and electrically neutral whole.
They can also be composed of thousands of atoms, such as biological molecules like DNA and proteins.
In addition, molecules are made up of particles and are considered to be the smallest portion of matter that retains the properties of the original matter.
Types of molecules
- Discrete molecules: they are composed of a defined number of atoms, of different elements (heteronuclear molecules) or of the same element (homonuclear molecules) and are classified according to the number of atoms, thus having monoatomic molecules (only one atom), diatomic molecules (two atoms), triatomic molecules (three atoms), tetraatomic molecules (four atoms), etc.
- Macromolecules and polymers: large molecules, built by the repetition of a single unit or set of this single unit, linked together.
