What is the most abundant element in the earths crust?
Most of the earth’s crust, or outer layer, is made up of eight elements. Oxygen tops the list in terms of abundance, with the planet’s shell being composed of almost 47% of this nonmetallic chemical element. Silicon posts a second-place ranking at nearly 28% by weight. Add these two elements together, and you get silicates. The majority of rocks scattered across the landscape of our terrestrial planet are silicate minerals, such as quartz and feldspar.