Download abundance of elements pie graph activity

Name _______________________________________________ Date _____________________ Period __________
ABUNDANCE OF ELEMENTS PIE GRAPH ACTIVITY
Purpose: The purpose of this activity is to create several pie graphs depicting the major elements found in the
atmosphere, solid earth, oceans and living matter.
Procedure:
1. Convert each percentage into degrees by multiplying it by 3.6, which is the number you arrive at when
you divide 360 (degrees in a circle) by 100 (total amount in percentages).
2. Add the total of all the items to make certain that the total is equal to 360˚. If not, recalculate the
degrees for each item.
3. Look at the circle provided. It has the center marked with a dot and the radius is drawn. The radius line
is labeled 0 ˚.
4. Line up the 0˚ on the protractor with the 0˚ radius line. Measure and mark the number of degrees
needed. Draw a line from the center to the new degrees mark.
5. Label this segment with the element name and percent.
6. Continue through your calculated degrees using the previously made line as the new 0˚ beginning and
measuring out the necessary number of degrees for each category.
7. Label each section. Color-code the sections to show the difference.
SOLID EARTH:
ELEMENT
Oxygen
Silicon
Aluminum
Iron
Calcium
Others
% BY MASS
47%
28%
8%
5%
3%
9%
DEGREE
The outermost layer of the Earth is called
the crust. Most of it is made from only 5
elements. It is rare for elements to occur
alone although some like gold and silver
do.
ATMOSPHERE
ELEMENT
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Others
% BY MASS
21%
78%
1%
DEGREE
The atmosphere surrounding the Earth is
called the atmosphere. It is held in place by
gravity and protects life by absorbing
ultraviolet radiation from the sun and
reducing temperature extremes between
day and night. The oxygen in the
atmosphere is necessary for most life on
Earth.
OCEANS
ELEMENT
Oxygen
Hydrogen
Chlorine
Sodium
Others
% BY MASS
85%
10%
2%
1%
2%
DEGREE
Ocean water is about 97% water and the
rest is elements and gases. There have
been around 84 elements identified in
sea water.
HUMAN BODY
ELEMENT
Oxygen
Carbon
Hydrogen
Nitrogen
Calcium
Phosphorus
Others
% BY MASS
65%
18%
10%
3%
2%
1%
1%
DEGREE
By mass, human cells consist of 65-95%
water. In the human body, 99% of the
mass is made up of 6 elements. The very
common element in the Earth’s crust,
silicon, is absent in the human body as
well as most life on Earth.
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Conclusion: Answer the following questions using complete sentences please!
1. Which element is found in all 4 areas? Why do think this is?
2. Why is the atmosphere important?
3. How do most elements in the Earth occur?
4. How many elements are found in sea water
5. How can you use your pie graphs to determine which elements are most common? (HINT- no extra
math required!)
6. Why is a pie graph useful when looking at percentages?