Complete the statement.
Graphite is ().

 - a compound
 - an elementary substance
You can tell whether graphite is an elementary substance or a compound by counting the number of symbols in its chemical formula. A symbol contains either one capital letter or a capital letter followed by one or two lowercase letters.
The chemical formula for graphite is C. This formula contains one symbol: C for carbon. So, the formula tells you that graphite is made of one chemical element.
Substances made of only one chemical element are elementary substances. So, graphite is an elementary substance.