CHEMICAL

ELEMENTS
Chemical Elements,substancemadeuponly of atoms
that all have the same atomic number. The atomic
number is the number of protons in the atoms nucleus:
element atomic number 1 hydrogen has one proton in the
nucleus and the element atomic number 92 uranium has
92 protons. Ninety-four natural elements have been
detected in the universe. More than 110 elements have
been identified, with some created only in laboratories as
artificial elements. Under certain conditions, one element
may be changed into another element through processes
that add or remove protons from a nucleus.

CHEMICAL
ELEMENTS
Althoughthenumberof protons in

the nucleus
of a particular chemical element is always the
same, the number of neutrons can vary, creating
isotopes of that element that have different
atomic masses and physical properties. The
chemical properties of an element are mainly
determined by the number of electrons in the
outermost shell of an atom of that element. The
number of electrons is the same as the number
of protons in the nucleus of an element. The unit
for atomic weight of the elements is one-twelfth
of the weight of the carbon-12 atom, which is
arbitrarily set at 12.

CHEMICAL
ELEMENTS
Atomsofasingleelement
may combine to form

molecules of that elementtwo atoms of oxygen

combine to form oxygen molecules, eight atoms
of sulfur combine to form sulfur molecules.
Atoms of different elements may combine to
form molecules of chemical compoundstwo
hydrogen atoms combine with one oxygen atom
to form molecules of water. Unlike chemical
compounds, elements cannot be broken down
into simpler substances by ordinary heat, light,
electricity, or chemical reactions. Like other
forms of matter, most elements can exist as
gases, liquids, or solids, depending on the

CHEMICAL
ELEMENTS
Scientistsuseone-and
two-letter
symbols for each element. In some cases
these symbols are based on old Greek or
Latin names for the elements and dont
correspond to their common English
names. For example, hydrogen is H, but
gold is Au, from Latin aurum.

ORIGIN OF
ELEMENTS
Theprocessofbuilding
up the nucleus of an element from
protons and neutrons is called nucleosynthesis. This
process only takes place under extreme conditions of
pressure and temperature. The first period of
nucleosynthesis occurred in the early moments of the
universe following the big bang, creating hydrogen and
helium. When the first stars formed, another type of
nucleosynthesis began in the cores of stars, fusing
hydrogen into helium, and releasing energy. The fusion
processes continued to create the elements carbon (6
protons), nitrogen (7 protons), and oxygen (8 protons) on
up to iron (26 protons). The fusion of iron does not release
energy and stars that reach this stage suffer a core
collapse, usually exploding as supernovas. When
supernovas explode, the extreme conditions can create
even heavier elements, up to uranium.

ABUNDANCE OF
ELEMENTS
Therelativeabundance
of elements in the universe

reflects how the elements were formed. The big bang

created the protons that form all the hydrogen nuclei
in the universe. Hydrogen accounts for about 73
percent of the ordinary matter in the universe by
mass, helium about 25 percent, and all other
elements less than 2 percent. By number of atoms,
about 90 percent of the atoms in the universe are
hydrogen, about 9 percent are helium, and all the
other elements account for less than 1 percent.
Processes in stars, and particularly supernova
explosions, determined the abundance of other
elements. Oxygen (8 protons) is the most abundant,
followed by carbon (6 protons), nitrogen (7 protons),
neon (10 protons), silicon (14 protons), magnesium

ABUNDANCE OF
ELEMENTS
Theparticularabundance of elements
found on Earth reflects the processes that
formed our planet from material that
became the Sun and the solar system.
For example, Earth was not massive
enough to retain helium from the original
material that formed the solar system.
The helium now found in Earth is the
result of radioactive decay of minerals
that release alpha particles, which have 2
protons and 2 neutrons, the same as

CLASSIFICATION
OF
ELEMENTS
Theparticularabundance of elements
found on Earth reflects the processes that
formed our planet from material that
became the Sun and the solar system.
For example, Earth was not massive
enough to retain helium from the original
material that formed the solar system.
The helium now found in Earth is the
result of radioactive decay of minerals
that release alpha particles, which have 2
protons and 2 neutrons, the same as