Although the universe is mostly of gaseous elements, the Earth is mainly made of metals. Learn about the factors that occur naturally in the periodic table and compare the most abundant features of the universe to the planets, especially the Earth.
The 10 First Elements to Be Named After Real People. ELEMENT/ SYMBOL NAMED AFTER COUNTRY / DATES YEAR 1. Samarium * Sm Vasili Samarsky-ByKhovets Russia (1803-70) 1879 2. Gadolinium # Gd Johan Gadolin Finland (1760-1852 1880 3. Curium Cm Pierre and Marie Curie (France, 1859-1906: Poland, 1867-1934) 1944 4. Einsteinium Es Albert Einstein Germany (1879-1955) 1952 5. Fermium Fm Enrico Fermi Italy (1901-54) 1953 6. Nobelium No Alfred Nobel Sweden (1833-96) 1958 7. Lawrencium Lr Ernest Lawrence USA (1901-58) 1961 8. Rutherfordium Rf Ernest Rutherford UK (1871-1937) 1969 9. Seaborgium Sg Glenn T. Seaborg USA (1912-99) 1974 10. Bohrium Bh Niels Bohr Denmark (1885-62) 1981
The 10 First Elements Top 10 Lightest Elements Elements Discoverer Country Discovered Year Density 1. Lithium Johan August Arfvedson Sweden 1817 0.53 2. Potassium Sir Humphry Davy UK 1807 0.86 3. Sodium Sir Humphry Davy UK 1807 0.97 4. Rubidium robert Wilhelm Bunsen/Gustav Kirchoff Germany 1861 1.53 5. Calcium Sir Humphry Davy UK 1808 1.55 6. Magnesium Sir Humphry Davy UK 1808 1.74 7. Phosphorus Hennig Brandt Germany 1669 1.83 8. Beryllium Friedrich Wohler/ Antoine-Alexanre Brutus Bussy Germany/France 1828 1.84 9. Caesium Robert Wilhelm Bunsen Germany 1860 1.90 10. Sulphur Joseph Gay-Lussac and Louis Thenard France 1777 2.07
Top 10 Lightest Elements The 10 Most Common Elements in the Oceans Elements Symbol Amount(Tonnes per SQ Km) 1. Oxygen O 857,000,000 2. Hydrogen H 107,800,000 3. Chlorine Cl 19,870,000 4. Sodium Na 11,050,000 5. Magnesium Mg 1,326,000 6. Sulphur S 928,000 7. Calcium Ca 422,000 8. Potassium K 416,000 9. Bromine Br 67,300 10. Carbon C 28,000
Most Common Elements in the Oceans The 10 Most Common Elements in the Universe Elements Symbol Parts Per Million 1. Hydrogen H 750,000 2. Helium He 230,000 3. Oxygen O 10,000 4. Carbon C 5,000 5. Neon Ne 1,300 6. Iron Fe 1,100 7. Nitrogen N 1,000 8. Silicon Si 700 9. Magnesium Mg 600 10. Sulphur S 500
Most Common Elements in the Universe Top 10 Heaviest Elements Elements Discoverer Country Discovered Year Density 1. Osmium Smithson Tennant UK 1803 22.59 2. Iridium Smithson Tennant UK 1803 22.56 3. Platinum Antonio de Ulloa Spain 1735 21.45 4. Rhenium Walter Noddack, Ida Tacke, and Otto Berg Germany 1925 21.02 5. Neptunium Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson USA 1940 20.45 6. Plutonium Glenn Seaborg and colleagues USA 1940 19.82 7. Gold James W. Marshall USA 1848 19.29 8. Tungsten Juan José and Fausto Elhuyar Spain 1783 19.25 9. Uranium Martin Heinrich Klaproth Germany 1789 19.05 10. Tantalum Anders Gustaf Ekeberg Sweden 1802 16.67
Top 10 Heaviest Elements The 10 Most Common Elements in the Earth’s Crust Elements Symbol Parts Per Million 1. Oxygen O 461,000 2. Silicon Si 282,000 3. Aluminium Al 82,300 4. Iron Fe 56,000 5. Calcium Ca 41,500 6. Sodium Na 23,600 7. Magnesium Mg 23,000 8. Potassium K 20,900 9. Titanium Ti 5,650 10. Hydrogen H 1,400
Most Common Elements in the Earth’s Crust 
