Particles: meaning, definitions and examples

Same as above. There is a repetition here.

Refers specifically to the basic unit of a chemical element. Atoms consist of a nucleus and electrons and are fundamental to understanding chemistry and physics.

• Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen atoms

Used in the context of fundamental particles in physics that are not made up of smaller particles. Examples include quarks and leptons.

• An electron is considered an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics

Refers to particles smaller than an atom, including protons, neutrons, and electrons. These are components of atoms.

• Protons and neutrons are examples of subatomic particles

Used in a general sense to refer to tiny pieces of matter in science, physics, or general conversation.

• Dust particles are floating in the air.
• Physicists study the behavior of subatomic particles.

Used in linguistics to refer to words that have little lexical meaning but serve to express grammatical relationships.

• In the sentence 'She is here,' 'is' is a function word.
• Function words include prepositions, conjunctions, and articles.

Specifically refers to a type of function word that does not change to fit grammatical categories in languages, often used for syntax structure.

• In Japanese, 'wa' is a grammatical particle that marks the topic of a sentence.
• Grammatical particles can be found in many languages around the world.