How Many Atoms Are There in a Human Cell?

Dendritic cell
A dendritic cell is a type of white blood cell.

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By
Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Chemistry Expert
  • Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
  • B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College
Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
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Updated on October 07, 2019

Have you ever wondered how many atoms are in a human cell? It's a huge number, so there is no exact figure, plus cells are different sizes and are growing and dividing all the time.

Calculating the Number

According to an estimate made by engineers at Washington University, there are around 1014 atoms in a typical human cell. Another way of looking at it is that this is 100,000,000,000,000 or 100 trillion atoms. Interestingly, the number of cells in the human body is estimated to be about the same as the number of atoms in a human cell.

Key Takeaways

  • The number of atoms per human cell is only a rough estimate because cells come in different sizes.
  • Scientists estimate the average cell contains 100 trillion atoms.
  • The number of atoms per cell is about the same as the number of cells in the body.
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Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "How Many Atoms Are There in a Human Cell?" ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/how-many-atoms-in-human-cell-603882. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2020, August 28). How Many Atoms Are There in a Human Cell? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/how-many-atoms-in-human-cell-603882 Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "How Many Atoms Are There in a Human Cell?" ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-many-atoms-in-human-cell-603882 (accessed March 24, 2023).