Discover the Single Most Abundant Element on the Planet

The earth contains over 90 natural elements, some of which are much more abundant than others. Without these simple substances, life as we know it would not exist. Let’s discover the most abundant elements on Earth and find out more about what elements make up different parts of our reality.

What Is the Single Most Abundant Element on the Planet?

The most abundant element on earth is oxygen (O). There are more oxygen atoms on Earth than any other element.

Oxygen is the most abundant element by mass in the Earth’s crust and oceans. It is also the second most abundant element in the atmosphere. Oxygen accounts for almost half of the total mass in the Earth’s crust.

Humans and other animals also absorb oxygen into their bodies through breathing, so the human body is made up of about 66 percent oxygen. We breathe air, take in oxygen in our lungs, and distribute it to the rest of our body.

Oxygen is easily consumed by various things, so it is necessary to actively replenish oxygen to sustain life. Photosynthetic plankton in the oceans produce more than half of the oxygen needed to sustain the planet. Interestingly, these organisms are responsible for creating the unique oxygen-rich atmosphere on Earth that can even support complex organisms.

Plants that carry out photosynthesis on land also produce oxygen. The world’s tropical rainforests alone are responsible for nearly 30 percent of oxygen production. Two large trees produce enough oxygen to feed a family of four for a year. This is one of the main reasons why deforestation is such a sensitive issue for environmental activists.

Seaweed provides most of the remaining oxygen needed for life. Many different types of algae exist worldwide, but their numbers are declining, as are terrestrial forests.

Discover the Single Most Abundant Element on Earth By Mass

Iron (Fe) is the most common element in terms of mass on Earth. Although there are technically more oxygen atoms on Earth, iron atoms collectively occupy the most space on Earth and are the heaviest. Oxygen atoms are much lighter than iron atoms, and the weight of oxygen atoms is also much lighter than iron.

Most of the iron on Earth exists in the inner and outer cores. About 85 percent of our planet’s solid inner core is iron, and this inner core is nearly 1,500 miles in diameter. The molten outer core is about 5,000 miles in diameter and is also over 80 percent iron.

What Is the Single Most Abundant Element in Our Planet’s Atmosphere?

The most common element in the Earth’s atmosphere is Nitrogen (N). Nitrogen makes up about 78 percent of the atmosphere, followed by oxygen at 21 percent. This means that about 99 percent of the air we need to live is made up of just these two elements.

When two nitrogen atoms combine they form a triple bond. Triple bonds are very stable and prevent nitrogen from reacting with many things. It exists in the atmosphere as a gas in higher concentrations than oxygen because it is not always involved in processes such as respiration and oxidation.

Nitrogen is not as easily destroyed by sunlight as oxygen. Again, this is because nitrogen exists as her two atoms within a triple bond. By comparison, oxygen atoms usually form double bond pairs. This allows much larger amounts of nitrogen to exist in the atmosphere than the less stable oxygen.

What Is the Single Most Abundant Element in the Universe?

The most abundant element in the universe is hydrogen (H). The second is helium (He) and the third is oxygen. Ninety percent of the atoms in existence are hydrogen, and 75 percent of the total mass of the universe is hydrogen. Hydrogen is so abundant in the universe because it is the simplest element that exists. It contains only one electron and one proton and no neutron. This means that hydrogen is very small and at the same time the lightest of the existing elements.

In stars, hydrogen atoms fuse to form helium. For this reason, helium is the second most abundant element in the universe. This nuclear fusion of hydrogen within stars releases an incredible amount of energy, which is why our sun emits the light that enables life on Earth.

Helium is her second lightest element and also the smallest. It is smaller than hydrogen because it has protons in its nucleus, and these protons bring electrons closer to the center. Hydrogen and helium are so abundant that all other matter accounts for about a tenth of the remaining matter in the universe.

Discover Why Hydrogen Isn’t the Single Most Abundant Element on Earth

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe above all others, but it is not the most abundant element on Earth. Hydrogen gas in the atmosphere is lighter than air, so it easily escapes into space.

Hydrogen present on Earth is mostly impure. Hydrogen is highly reactive and very few hydrogens exist on Earth as single atoms. Nevertheless, hydrogen is an important component of important substances such as water and is present in more chemical compounds than any other element on Earth.

The reactivity of hydrogen is well known. This gas is so light that it was used in airships in the early 20th century. The Hindenburg was the last of these airships to explode and burst into flames from the reactive hydrogen gas used to levitate.

The hydrogen bomb is the most dangerous weapon mankind has ever created. No one has ever used them in combat because of the devastating destruction they wreak. To cause this massive explosion, deuterium atoms fuse into helium in a process very similar to that of the Sun.