read my answer here
..
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20170209054506AA6wGzb
atoms are small particles of matter.
"elements" is how we group "like" atoms.
it's like asking the question..
.. "which is physically larger.. a grain of sand, or the method we use to sort sand by size"
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note IUPAC's definition
https://goldbook.iupac.org/html/C/C01022.html
.. "a chemical element is a SPECIES of atoms; all atoms with the same number of
... protons in the atomic nucleus."
they also continue on to say sometimes "chemical elements" applies to SPECIES and sometimes GROUPS of atoms of the same elements. Although that is true... i.e.. many instructors will call a group of atoms of the same element a chemical element.. or.. an "element".. that doesn't make it good practice. A better term would be "sample of pure element x". The sample is the physical entity, the element x is the species.