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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999  > March  >
In the Classroom
Periodic Tables of Elemental Abundance
Steven I. Dutch
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, Green Bay, WI 54311-7001
Cover
March 1999
Vol. 76 No. 3
p. 356
Abstract
Patterns of element abundance in the sun and planets are easily portrayed on a periodic table. The abundance of each element is represented by a circle whose radius is proportional to the logarithm of the element's abundance. A plot of solar element abundance shows patterns related to stellar nucleosynthesis: overwhelming abundance of light elements, strong preference for even-numbered elements, a relative peak in abundance at iron followed by a steady decrease, and the cosmic scarcity of lithium, beryllium, and boron. A similar plot for chondrite meteorites shows a striking similarity to the solar plot apart from the light elements that would not accrete into solids. Plots for the continental crust of the earth and the lunar crust depart strongly from the chondritic abundance pattern, reflecting the more complex chemical evolution histories of those systems.
More Information
*  Citation
 Dutch, Steven I. J. Chem. Educ. 1999 76 356.
*  Keywords
 Demonstrations; Inorganic Chemistry; Astrochemistry; Geochemistry; Periodicity / Periodic Table; Teaching / Learning Aids
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 June 15, 1999
June 22, 2005
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