Elements 元素 yuán sù are the basic building blocks of matter 物质 wù zhì. They are made up of similar type of particles 粒子 lì zǐ and, unlike compounds 化合物 huà hé wù, elements 元素 yuán sù cannot be further broken down chemically into simpler substances. There are 92 naturally occurring elements 元素 yuán sù. Elements 元素 yuán sù are arranged into the Periodic Table 周 期表 zhōu qī biǎo that groups and shows the trends of the elements 元素 yuán sù. The elements 元素 yuán sù are arranged in increasing number of protons 质子 zhì zǐ.