Science Common Sense

43 - What is an atom?

Imagine you have a bunch of Legos, and each Lego brick is like a tiny building block. An atom is like one of those Lego bricks, but for everything around us. It's the smallest unit of a substance, like a material or an element.

An atom has three main parts:

1. Protons (like the strong foundation of the brick)
2. Neutrons (like extra blocks that add weight)
3. Electrons (like tiny, fast-moving balls that zoom around the brick)

All atoms have these three parts, and they're what make up everything in the world, from the air we breathe to the chair you're sitting on.