ATOM

An atom is the smallest constituent unit of ordinary matter that has the properties of a chemical
element.[1] Everysolid, liquid, gas, and plasma is composed of neutral or ionized atoms. Atoms are
very small; typical sizes are around 100 pm (a ten-billionth of a meter, in the short scale).[2] However,
atoms do not have well-defined boundaries, and there are different ways to define their size that give
different but close values.

Atoms are small enough that attempting to predict their behavior using classical physics - as if they
were billiard balls, for example - gives noticeably incorrect predictions due to quantum effects.
Through the development of physics, atomic models have incorporated quantum principles to better
explain and predict the behavior.

Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus
is made of one or more protons and typically a similar number of neutrons. Protons and neutrons are
called nucleons. More than 99.94% of an atom's mass is in the nucleus. The protons have a
positive electric charge, the electrons have a negative electric charge, and the neutrons have no
electric charge. If the number of protons and electrons are equal, that atom is electrically neutral. If
an atom has more or fewer electrons than protons, then it has an overall negative or positive charge,
respectively, and it is called an ion.

The electrons of an atom are attracted to the protons in an atomic nucleus by this electromagnetic
force. The protons and neutrons in the nucleus are attracted to each other by a different force,
the nuclear force, which is usually stronger than the electromagnetic force repelling the positively
charged protons from one another. Under certain circumstances the repelling electromagnetic force
becomes stronger than the nuclear force, and nucleons can be ejected from the nucleus, leaving
behind a different element: nuclear decay resulting in nuclear transmutation.

The number of protons in the nucleus defines to what chemical element the atom belongs: for
example, all copperatoms contain 29 protons. The number of neutrons defines the isotope of the
element.[3] The number of electrons influences the magnetic properties of an atom. Atoms can attach
to one or more other atoms by chemical bonds to form chemical compounds such as molecules. The
ability of atoms to associate and dissociate is responsible for most of the physical changes observed
in nature, and is the subject of the discipline of chemistry. A molecule is an electrically neutral group
of two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds.[3][4][5][6][7] Molecules are distinguished
from ions by their lack of electrical charge. However, in quantum physics, organic chemistry,
and biochemistry, the term molecule is often used less strictly, also being applied to polyatomic ions.

In the kinetic theory of gases, the term molecule is often used for any gaseous particle regardless of
its composition. According to this definition, noble gas atoms are considered molecules as they are
in fact monoatomic molecules.[8]
MOLECULE

A molecule may be homonuclear, that is, it consists of atoms of a single chemical element, as

with oxygen (O2); or it may beheteronuclear, a chemical compound composed of more than one
element, as with water (H2O). Atoms and complexes connected by non-covalent bonds such
as hydrogen bonds or ionic bonds are generally not considered single molecules.[9]

Molecules as components of matter are common in organic substances (and therefore

biochemistry). They also make up most of the oceans and atmosphere. However, the majority of
familiar solid substances on Earth, including most of the minerals that make up the crust, mantle,
and core of the Earth, contain many chemical bonds, but are not made of identifiable molecules.
Also, no typical molecule can be defined for ionic crystals (salts) and covalent crystals (network
solids), although these are often composed of repeating unit cells that extend either in a plane (such
as in graphene) or three-dimensionally (such as in diamond, quartz, orsodium chloride). The theme
of repeated unit-cellular-structure also holds for most condensed phases with metallic bonding,
which means that solid metals are also not made of molecules. In glasses (solids that exist in a
vitreous disordered state), atoms may also be held together by chemical bonds without presence of
any definable molecule, but also without any of the regularity of repeating units that characterizes
crystals.

MICROORGANISM

A microorganism or microbe is a microscopic living organism, which may be single-

celled[1] or multicellular. The study of microorganisms is called microbiology, a subject that began
with the discovery of microorganisms in 1674 by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, using a microscope of
his own design.

Microorganisms are very diverse and include all bacteria, archaea and most protozoa. This group
also contains some species of fungi, algae, and certain microscopic animals, such as rotifers.
Many macroscopic animals and plants have microscopicjuvenile stages. Some microbiologists also
classify viruses (and viroids) as microorganisms, but others consider these as nonliving.[2][3] In July
2016, scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes from the last universal ancestor of all life,
including microorganisms, living on Earth.[4]

Microorganisms live in every part of the biosphere, including soil, hot springs, "seven miles deep" in
the ocean, "40 miles high" in the atmosphere and inside rocks far down within the Earth's crust (see
also endolith).[5] Microorganisms, under certain test conditions, have been observed to thrive in the
vacuum of outer space.[6][7] According to some estimates, microorganisms outweigh "all other living
things combined thousands of times over".[8] The mass of prokaryote microorganisms — which
includes bacteria and archaea, but not the nucleated eukaryote microorganisms — may be as much
as 0.8 trillion tons of carbon (of the total biosphere mass, estimated at between 1 and 4 trillion tons).
[9]
 On 17 March 2013, researchers reported data that suggested microbial life forms thrive in
the Mariana Trench. the deepest spot in the Earth's oceans.[10][11] Other researchers reported related
studies that microorganisms thrive inside rocks up to 580 m (1,900 ft; 0.36 mi) below the sea floor
under 2,590 m (8,500 ft; 1.61 mi) of ocean off the coast of the northwestern United States,[10][12] as
well as 2,400 m (7,900 ft; 1.5 mi) beneath the seabed off Japan.[13] On 20 August 2014, scientists
confirmed the existence of microorganisms living 800 m (2,600 ft; 0.50 mi) below the ice
of Antarctica.[14][15] According to one researcher, "You can find microbes everywhere — they're
extremely adaptable to conditions, and survive wherever they are."[10]

Microorganisms are crucial to nutrient recycling in ecosystems as they act as decomposers. As

some microorganisms can fix nitrogen, they are a vital part of the nitrogen cycle, and recent studies
indicate that airborne microorganisms may play a role in precipitation and weather.
[16]
 Microorganisms are also exploited in biotechnology, both in traditional food and beverage
preparation, and in modern technologies based on genetic engineering. A small proportion of
microorganisms are pathogenic, causing disease and even death in plants and animals.[17]

CELL

The cell (from Latin cella, meaning "small room"[1]) is the basic structural, functional, and biological
unit of all known livingorganisms. A cell is the smallest unit of life that can replicate independently,
and cells are often called the "building blocks of life". The study of cells is called cell biology.

Cells consist of cytoplasm enclosed within a membrane, which contains many biomolecules such

as proteins and nucleic acids.[2] Organisms can be classified as unicellular (consisting of a single cell;
including bacteria) or multicellular (includingplants and animals). While the number of cells in plants
and animals varies from species to species, humans contain more than 10 trillion (1013) cells.[3] Most
plant and animal cells are visible only under a microscope, with dimensions between 1 and
100 micrometres.[4]

The cell was discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665, who named the biological unit for its resemblance
to cells inhabited byChristian monks in a monastery.[5][6] Cell theory, first developed in 1839
by Matthias Jakob Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, states that all organisms are composed of one
or more cells, that cells are the fundamental unit of structure and function in all living organisms, that
all cells come from preexisting cells, and that all cells contain the hereditary information necessary
for regulating cell functions and for transmitting information to the next generation of cells.[7] Cells
emerged on Earth at least 3.5 billion years ago.[8][9][10]