- An atom is the basic unit of an element, composed of subatomic particles including electrons, protons, and neutrons. Atoms combine in whole number ratios to form compounds. - Dalton's atomic theory from the 19th century proposed that matter is made of tiny particles called atoms, atoms of the same element are identical, and atoms combine in fixed ratios to form compounds. - The modern atomic theory states that atoms of the same element share the same number of protons, called the atomic number, and electrons occupy quantized energy levels in orbits around the nucleus.