This text presents the basic structure of quantum mechanics, the "elements" needed to understand the subject and its applications. It is written at a level which is intermediate between the standard graduate textbooks, which it intends to supplement, and the more advanced mathematical writings in the subject. Particular attention is given to the concepts of kinematical and dynamical symmetries. The unifying thread that links the study of particles and systems of particles is the connection between Galilean invariance and the fundamental observables of a system. The mathematical appendices on the Hilbert space, the theory of distributions and Dirac"s formalism provide a mathematical basis which is adequate for many working theoretical physicists.