Compounds and Molecules: When two elements combine and form another substance, it is called a compound, while the bonded atoms are called molecules. Millions of compounds can be found in the earth today, and all are pure substances. A good metaphor is the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue). All colors are based somehow on these three, so imagine that they are atoms or elements. As for the secondary colors and all other shades of the color spectrum, imagine that they are molecules and compounds. Every molecule has at least two different atoms. Below is an image of the compound Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) and a molecule from the compound water.

 
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