Easy chemistry question easy 10 points?

um ive only taken one year of chemistry but my best guess is...

ions have to do with elements or chemicals bonding. for example when creating a bond the elements can either share or take electrons (negatively charged part of an atom) an example of an anion is nitrate NO3- and an example of a cation in NH4+. Since ions are what help create bonds between atoms, this is why they cannot be made up of atoms.

Polyatomic ions is then a general name for 2 or more elements bonded together that results in a charge. since elements are made of atoms, polyatomic ions are therefore composed of atoms through the involved elements. Polyatomic is just general.

hope i sound smart hahaha

Atoms are made up up protons neutrons and electrons. a proton has a positive charge and an electron has a negative charge. the atom has enough protons to cancel out the charge of the electrons. now when an atom gains or loses and electron it has a charge and is no longer considered an atom; it is considered an ion. polyatomic ions are a group of atoms that are bonded together, but together they have a positive or negative charge so it is just called a polyatomic ion.

and here is this for more help. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyatomic_ion

Ions are simply atoms with missing electrons, positive charge, or extra electrons, negative charge. A single atom with either of these conditions would be called an ion. Get two or more of these ions together and you get a polyatomic ion. Poly (many), atomic (atoms) ion (charged atom).

Ions are atoms, polyatomic ions are simply multiple ions bonded together.

A polyatomic ion is a certain type of ion that IS made up of atoms. That is the only difference.

A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a charged species (ion) composed of two or more atoms covalently bonded or of a metal complex that can be considered as acting as a single unit in the context of acid and base chemistry or in the formation of salts. The prefix poly- means many in Greek, but even ions of two atoms are commonly referred to as polyatomic. In older literature, a polyatomic ion is also referred to as a radical, and less commonly, as a radical group. In contemporary usage, the term radical refers to free radicals which are uncharged species with an unpaired electron.

Hydroxide ions and ammonium ions

A hydroxide ion is made of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom: its chemical formula is (OH)−. It has a charge of −1.

An ammonium ion is made up of one nitrogen atom and four hydrogen atoms: its chemical formula is (NH4)+. It has charge of +1.

A polyatomic ion can often be considered as the conjugate acid or conjugate base of a neutral molecule. For example the sulfate anion, SO42−, is derived from H2SO4 which can be regarded as SO3 + H2O.

a polyatomic ion is the molecular form of an ion, the closest analogy i have is that a particle of dirt, is dirt, but a handfull of dirt is also dirt.

an ion is a charged atom...

because it is considered as acting as a single unit in the context of acid and base chemistry or in the formation of salts

uhh u said it wuz an ez question.....

yes, that is correct!