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Britannica Web Sites
Articles from Britannica encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- molecule - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
A molecule is the smallest unit of a substance that has all the properties of that substance. For instance, a water molecule is the smallest unit that is still water. A water molecule can be divided into tiny parts called atoms. This produces two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. But these atoms alone do not have the properties of water.
- molecule - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
The smallest units into which a compound can be divided without changing its chemical properties are molecules. They are formed from combinations of atoms, the basic building blocks of all matter (see Atomic Particles).