{"id":1471,"date":"2016-05-06T15:53:46","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T15:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/geologyxwaymakerxmaster\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=1471"},"modified":"2023-06-28T17:55:30","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T17:55:30","slug":"outcome-most-common-elements","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/colorado-wmopen-geology\/chapter\/outcome-most-common-elements\/","title":{"raw":"Common Elements, Where'd They Come From?","rendered":"Common Elements, Where&#8217;d They Come From?"},"content":{"raw":"<h2>Where did it all come from?<\/h2>\r\nOK, that's kind of a big question.\u00a0 (Maybe THE big question?)\r\n\r\nFrom a scientific perspective, it all came from nothing, in one cataclysmic eruption of space and time.\r\nBut the big bang was not an explosion that occurred in some part of the universe that we could point towards.\r\nIt occurred everywhere and within everything!\r\nYeah, that's a little odd... but remember (if you've ever studied this hugely important theory, beyond the bounds of a TV show), the big bang did not just create stuff (matter); it created space and time also!\r\n\r\nFor whatever reason (and I'm personally ready to invoke a \"Creator\" here), astronomers and cosmologists are very confident that it did happen, around 14 billion years ago.\u00a0 AND, the result?---\u00a0 Initially the generation of hydrogen and helium.\r\nDuring the ensuing 100's of millions and billions of years, stars and galaxies formed.\r\nAND, although no where near the temperatures and pressures of the big bang itself, the interiors of those stars began to forge new elements through processes of nuclear fusion (squeezing atoms together).\r\n\r\nHere is the result-- it's a plot of solar (our star) abundances, but is pretty representative of \"star-stuff\" throughout the known universe.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2666\/2016\/05\/07151531\/CosAbund.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone wp-image-3822\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2666\/2016\/05\/07151531\/CosAbund-300x278.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"385\" height=\"357\" \/><\/a>\r\n<h2><span style=\"float: none; background-color: #ffffff; color: #373d3f; cursor: text; font-family: 'proxima-nova',sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px;\">Without turning this into an astronomy discussion-- we have to ask, or recognize, that planets have totally different \"abundances\" of elements!\r\nThe reason for this is something called \"differentiation.\"\u00a0 The process of planet formation gave us a bunch of rocky worlds that make up the inner solar system (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) and a bunch of gas\/volatile based worlds that make up the outer solar system (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune).\u00a0 THEN, these worlds further differentiated as a consequence of core formation (e.g. iron and associated elements descending to the central portion of the planet).\r\n<\/span><\/h2>\r\nAt any rate, that finally brings us to the elements that we find in earth's crust!\r\nRead on...\r\n<h2>Identify the most common elements in the Earth\u2019s crust and their order of abundance.<\/h2>\r\nThis section will introduce you to the most common elements present in the Earth's crust that\u00a0directly influence types of minerals formed.\r\n<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>What You\u2019ll Learn to Do<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Identify the eight most common elements in Earth's crust.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Organize the eight most common elements in Earth's crust by order of abundance.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Abundance of Elements in Earth's Crust<\/h2>\r\nThe table shows the <b>abundance of elements in Earth's crust<\/b>.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1946\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"600\"]<img class=\"wp-image-1946 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/115\/2016\/05\/27100210\/Elite-Eight.png\" alt=\"A bar chart showing the most commonly found elements in the Earth. The elements are listed along the x-axis and percentage is on the y-axis. All numbers are approximate. Oxygen is just below 50 percent, silicon is just about 25 percent. Calcium is 5 percent. Iron is 6 percent. Magnesium is 4 percent. Potassium is just above 4 percent. Aluminum is 10 percent. Sodium is 4 percent.\" width=\"600\" height=\"500\" \/> The Elite Eight Elements[\/caption]\r\n<h2>Silicate Minerals and the Silicate Tetrahedron<\/h2>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Most of the minerals in the earth are silicate minerals. The building block of silicate minerals\u2014the essential component that makes them silicate minerals\u2014is the silicate tetrahedron. The silicate tetrahedron consists of four oxygen atoms arranged as close as they can get around a central silicon atom. The result is a pyramidal shape known as a tetrahedron, with an oxygen atom at each of its four apices. (The apices are the points on the tetrahedron where three corners come together.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The silicon atom by itself has four electrons in its outer shell. In the silicate tetrahedron each of those four electrons is being shared with one of the four attached oxygen atoms. In turn, each oxygen atom is sharing one of the 6 electrons it has in its outer shell.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The result is that the silicon at the center of the tetrahedron has, in effect, a full outer shell with eight electrons in it. Those eight electrons are shared, in pairs, with the four oxygen atoms of the tetrahedron. Each oxygen atom in the tetrahedron, in turn, will have seven electrons in its outer shell\u2014if there is nothing more to the system than the one silicon atom bonded to the four oxygen atoms. This would leave each oxygen atom one electron short of having a full outer shell of electrons.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">However, oxygen is a strongly electronegative element, which means that it has the strength to attract electrons from other elements to its nucleus in most situations. In a mineral, each oxygen atom in the silicate tetrahedron will actually have eight electrons: the six electrons that each oxygen atom had in its outer electron shell to begin with, the electron it gained by sharing a pair of electrons in a covalent bond with the silicon atom in the tetrahedron, and one more electron from another atom (or another small group of atoms) in the mineral, outside the tetrahedron.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Silicate tetrahedra are able to bond with many common elements in many different crystal lattice arrangements. In addition, silicate tetrahedra are able to bond with other silicate tetrahedra in a variety of geometric arrangements, including rings, sheets, chains, and three-dimensional networks.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>Check Your Understanding<\/h3>\r\nThe lithosphere is made up of numerous minerals and elements. Which of the following is the most abundant element in the lithosphere?\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>carbonates<\/li>\r\n \t<li>silicon<\/li>\r\n \t<li>oxygen<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<details><summary>Show Answer<\/summary>oxygen\r\n\r\n<\/details><\/div>\r\n","rendered":"<h2>Where did it all come from?<\/h2>\n<p>OK, that&#8217;s kind of a big question.\u00a0 (Maybe THE big question?)<\/p>\n<p>From a scientific perspective, it all came from nothing, in one cataclysmic eruption of space and time.<br \/>\nBut the big bang was not an explosion that occurred in some part of the universe that we could point towards.<br \/>\nIt occurred everywhere and within everything!<br \/>\nYeah, that&#8217;s a little odd&#8230; but remember (if you&#8217;ve ever studied this hugely important theory, beyond the bounds of a TV show), the big bang did not just create stuff (matter); it created space and time also!<\/p>\n<p>For whatever reason (and I&#8217;m personally ready to invoke a &#8220;Creator&#8221; here), astronomers and cosmologists are very confident that it did happen, around 14 billion years ago.\u00a0 AND, the result?&#8212;\u00a0 Initially the generation of hydrogen and helium.<br \/>\nDuring the ensuing 100&#8217;s of millions and billions of years, stars and galaxies formed.<br \/>\nAND, although no where near the temperatures and pressures of the big bang itself, the interiors of those stars began to forge new elements through processes of nuclear fusion (squeezing atoms together).<\/p>\n<p>Here is the result&#8211; it&#8217;s a plot of solar (our star) abundances, but is pretty representative of &#8220;star-stuff&#8221; throughout the known universe.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2666\/2016\/05\/07151531\/CosAbund.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3822\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2666\/2016\/05\/07151531\/CosAbund-300x278.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"385\" height=\"357\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"float: none; background-color: #ffffff; color: #373d3f; cursor: text; font-family: 'proxima-nova',sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px;\">Without turning this into an astronomy discussion&#8211; we have to ask, or recognize, that planets have totally different &#8220;abundances&#8221; of elements!<br \/>\nThe reason for this is something called &#8220;differentiation.&#8221;\u00a0 The process of planet formation gave us a bunch of rocky worlds that make up the inner solar system (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) and a bunch of gas\/volatile based worlds that make up the outer solar system (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune).\u00a0 THEN, these worlds further differentiated as a consequence of core formation (e.g. iron and associated elements descending to the central portion of the planet).<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>At any rate, that finally brings us to the elements that we find in earth&#8217;s crust!<br \/>\nRead on&#8230;<\/p>\n<h2>Identify the most common elements in the Earth\u2019s crust and their order of abundance.<\/h2>\n<p>This section will introduce you to the most common elements present in the Earth&#8217;s crust that\u00a0directly influence types of minerals formed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>What You\u2019ll Learn to Do<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify the eight most common elements in Earth&#8217;s crust.<\/li>\n<li>Organize the eight most common elements in Earth&#8217;s crust by order of abundance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Abundance of Elements in Earth&#8217;s Crust<\/h2>\n<p>The table shows the <b>abundance of elements in Earth&#8217;s crust<\/b>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1946\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1946\" class=\"wp-image-1946 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/115\/2016\/05\/27100210\/Elite-Eight.png\" alt=\"A bar chart showing the most commonly found elements in the Earth. The elements are listed along the x-axis and percentage is on the y-axis. All numbers are approximate. Oxygen is just below 50 percent, silicon is just about 25 percent. Calcium is 5 percent. Iron is 6 percent. Magnesium is 4 percent. Potassium is just above 4 percent. Aluminum is 10 percent. Sodium is 4 percent.\" width=\"600\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1946\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Elite Eight Elements<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Silicate Minerals and the Silicate Tetrahedron<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Most of the minerals in the earth are silicate minerals. The building block of silicate minerals\u2014the essential component that makes them silicate minerals\u2014is the silicate tetrahedron. The silicate tetrahedron consists of four oxygen atoms arranged as close as they can get around a central silicon atom. The result is a pyramidal shape known as a tetrahedron, with an oxygen atom at each of its four apices. (The apices are the points on the tetrahedron where three corners come together.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The silicon atom by itself has four electrons in its outer shell. In the silicate tetrahedron each of those four electrons is being shared with one of the four attached oxygen atoms. In turn, each oxygen atom is sharing one of the 6 electrons it has in its outer shell.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The result is that the silicon at the center of the tetrahedron has, in effect, a full outer shell with eight electrons in it. Those eight electrons are shared, in pairs, with the four oxygen atoms of the tetrahedron. Each oxygen atom in the tetrahedron, in turn, will have seven electrons in its outer shell\u2014if there is nothing more to the system than the one silicon atom bonded to the four oxygen atoms. This would leave each oxygen atom one electron short of having a full outer shell of electrons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">However, oxygen is a strongly electronegative element, which means that it has the strength to attract electrons from other elements to its nucleus in most situations. In a mineral, each oxygen atom in the silicate tetrahedron will actually have eight electrons: the six electrons that each oxygen atom had in its outer electron shell to begin with, the electron it gained by sharing a pair of electrons in a covalent bond with the silicon atom in the tetrahedron, and one more electron from another atom (or another small group of atoms) in the mineral, outside the tetrahedron.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Silicate tetrahedra are able to bond with many common elements in many different crystal lattice arrangements. In addition, silicate tetrahedra are able to bond with other silicate tetrahedra in a variety of geometric arrangements, including rings, sheets, chains, and three-dimensional networks.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Check Your Understanding<\/h3>\n<p>The lithosphere is made up of numerous minerals and elements. Which of the following is the most abundant element in the lithosphere?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>carbonates<\/li>\n<li>silicon<\/li>\n<li>oxygen<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<details>\n<summary>Show Answer<\/summary>\n<p>oxygen<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1471\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Introduction to Most Common Elements. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning and SBCTC. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Abundance of Elements in Earth&#039;s Crust. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Kimberly Schulte and Lumen Learning. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Basics - Minerals. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Ralph L. Dawes and Cheryl D. Dawes. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Wenatchee Valley College. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/commons.wvc.edu\/rdawes\/G101OCL\/Basics\/minerals.html\">http:\/\/commons.wvc.edu\/rdawes\/G101OCL\/Basics\/minerals.html<\/a>. <strong>Project<\/strong>: Geology 101 - Introduction to Physical Geology. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":17,"menu_order":4,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Introduction to Most Common Elements\",\"author\":\"Lumen Learning and SBCTC\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Abundance of Elements in Earth\\'s Crust\",\"author\":\"Kimberly Schulte and Lumen Learning\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Basics - Minerals\",\"author\":\"Ralph L. 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