Be sure to answer all parts. Enter your answers in scientific notation. Earth\'s

Question

Be sure to answer all parts. Enter your answers in scientific notation. Earth's surface area is 5.10 Times 10^8 km^2, and its crust has a mean thickness of 35 km and mean density of 2.8 g/cm^3. The two most abundant elements in the crust are oxygen (4.55 Times 10^5 g/t) and silicon (2.72 Times 10^5 g/t), and the two rarest non-radioactive elements are ruthenium and rhodium, each with an abundance of 1 Times 10^-4 g/t. What is the total mass of each of these elements in Earth's crust? 1 metric ton (t) = 1,000 kg.

Explanation / Answer

volume = 5.10 x 10^8   x 35 km

          = 1.8 x 10^10 km^3.

         = 1.8 x 10^10 x (10^5 cm)^3

         = 1.8 x 10^ 25 cm^3

weight = 1.8 x 10^25 x 2.8

          = 5.0 x 10^25 g

    
Multiply each of your numbers by the total weight (in t) to get the total weight of the element.

weight of O = 5.0 x 10^25 x 4.55 x 10^5 / 10^6 = 2.3 x 10^25 g

weight of Si = 1.4 x 10^25 g

weight of Ru and Rh = 5.0 x 10^15 g

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