The word 'atom' comes from a Greek word that translates to which of the following?

The word 'atom' comes from the Greek word 'atomos', which means 'uncuttable' or 'indivisible'. Atoms are some of the smallest particles known to man, and when they were first proposed around 5 BCE, the Greek philosopher Democritus believed they could not be split or divided into smaller pieces. Modern science has since proved this wrong.

Although atoms are the building blocks of elements, they can be divided into smaller particles through processes such as nuclear fission. Today, scientists know that atoms are made up of smaller elements called quarks and leptons.

In nature, there are many different types of atoms, each with a unique name, mass and size. Collectively, they are called chemical elements, which are organised in the order of their atomic numbers on a periodic table. Examples of elements include hydrogen, carbon, chlorine, and gold.

Atoms are very small, but their exact size depends on the element. They range from 0.1 to 0.5 nanometers in width. To put this into perspective, one nanometer is approximately 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. The human body consists of over 7 octillion (27 zeros) atoms, 98% of which are replaced every year.

Atoms can merge together to make molecules. Two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, for instance, combine to make a water molecule.