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elements, terrestrial abundance
The proportion of elements within the Earth changes dramatically with depth, heavier elements, notably iron and nickel, having sunk to the center of the planet during its early stages of formation. The table below ranks the elements according to their preponderance in the lithosphere, which includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle.
| Distribution of elements in the Earth's crust (by weight) | ||
|---|---|---|
| element | atomic number | % by weight |
| oxygen | 8 | 46.60 |
| silicon | 14 | 27.72 |
| aluminum | 13 | 8.13 |
| iron | 26 | 5.00 |
| calcium | 20 | 3.63 |
| sodium | 11 | 2.83 |
| potassium | 19 | 2.59 |
| magnesium | 12 | 2.09 |
| titanium | 22 | 0.44 |
| hydrogen | 1 | 0.14 |
| phosphorus | 15 | 0.12 |
| manganese | 25 | 0.10 |
| fluorine | 9 | 0.08 |
| sulfur | 16 | 0.05 |
| chlorine | 17 | 0.05 |
| carbon | 6 | 0.03 |
| rubidium | 37 | 0.03 |
| vanadium | 23 | 0.01 |
| chromium | 24 | 0.01 |
| copper | 29 | 0.01 |
| nitrogen | 7 | 0.005 |
| boron | 5 | trace |
| cobalt | 27 | trace |
| zinc | 30 | trace |
| selenium | 34 | trace |
| molybdenum | 42 | trace |
| tin | 50 | trace |
| iodine | 53 | trace |
Related entries
• elements, cosmic abundance
• elements, biological abundance
Related category
• GEOLOGY AND PLANETARY SCIENCE
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