most common element?

Question

I need to know the most common element on earth, including water. I believe it's hydrogen, but can someone tell me what it is, and give me a link that proves it? first to do so gets best answer

Answer 1

Oxygen. Think of all the metal oxides in the earth's crust, as well as in H2O (sea-water).

Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, but that was not your question.

Answer 2

So here I thought I'd just confirm that hydrogen is the correct answer, and what I found is a bit of a quandry.

By mass Oxygen is the most abundant element on earth. If you measure by the number of molecules of an element on earth than hydrogen is the correct answer.

There are about a million articles, tables, and papers about commonality of elements on earth. The correct answer in your question really depends on how the questioner is defining common.

Answer 3

Hydrogen it is although it a little confusing question and debatable by the various answers you are getting. You must know the earth is covered with mostly water. Check these 2 sites


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_%28molecule%29
http://www.chem4kids.com/files/elements/001_speak.html

Answer 4

The most common element on Earth is Oxygen. It is definitely not Hydrogen. Hydrogen is only ~0.1%, whereas Oxygen is ~45%. Hydrogen is by far the most common element in the Universe, however.

Answer 5

Actually, oxygen is the most common element on earth. Its atomic number is 8, it's a gas that we breathe, and it's in water.

Answer 6

Hydrogen. It makes up 3/4 of all the matter in the known universe.

To the 2 geniuses who gave me thumbs-downs:
Oxygen is ranked third, after helium.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_the_chemical_elements
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/f/blabundant.htm
http://education.jlab.org/glossary/abund_uni.html
http://genchem.chem.wisc.edu/lab/PTL/PTL/Elements/H/H.html

Earth's is a little different, where the most abundant element in the Earth's crust is oxygen, then silicon.

Answer 7

Oxygen 46.6
Silicon 27.7
Aluminum 8.1
Iron 5.0
Calcium 3.6
Potassium 2.6
Magnesium 2.6
etc.

http://www.esse.ou.edu/fund_concepts/Fundamental_Concepts1/Elements/Relative_Abundance.html#Big_Eight

Answer 8

the whole earth:

iron--32%
oxygen-30%
silicon--15%


crust only :

Oxygen--47% in compounds
silica is the most common--SiO2--59% of the crust

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth

Answer 9

Oxygen.

Answer 10

Funny how people forget about nitrogen.