Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
which means yellow. And the symbol for tungsten is W based on its name in Ger-
man: wolfram.
Element name: Some periodic tables also list the name of the element below the
symbol (see Figure 5-3).
Figure 5-3: The
periodic table of
the elements.
Table 5-1 lists the most common elements in earth's crust and their approximate per-
centage. (This list does not include the iron and nickel that are found in the earth's core,
as I describe in Chapter 4.) These elements are the ones that compose nearly all the
rocks on earth. You see them often in this topic, so it's a good idea to get familiar with
their atomic symbols.
Table 5-1 Common Elements in Earth's Crust
Element
Atomic Symbol % of Crustal Material
Oxygen
O
46.6
Silica
Si
28
Aluminum
Al
8.1
Iron
Fe
5
Calcium
Ca
3.6
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