Chemical composition of the earth - Astronomy/Chem question

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the mass fractions of various elements in the Earth, specifically O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Ca, and Fe, under specific conditions where sulfur is not included and iron is entirely metallic. Participants are attempting to determine how to account for the mass of oxides formed from these elements, particularly how to distribute oxygen among the different oxides like Na2O, MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, and CaO. There is some confusion regarding the methodology for integrating the oxides into the mass calculations based on the provided elemental abundances. The conversation highlights the need for clarity on how to approach the problem, especially in relation to the chemistry involved. Overall, the thread emphasizes the complexity of the calculations and the importance of understanding the relationships between the elements and their oxides.
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Homework Statement



Calculate and tabulate the fractions of the total mass of the Earth which would be
accounted for by O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Ca and Fe under the following hypothese.
i) All the elements above are fully oxidized, except that no S is accreted and the
Fe is entirely metallic (that is, brings no O with it)

you may neglect H, He, C, N, Ne, Ar and unbound oxygen (which do not
condense at the temperatures in question) and all elements less abundant than sodium. In
your answer, please tabulate the mass fractions of each elements (including O), not the
mass fractions of the oxides. You may assume the relevant oxides are Na2O, MgO, Al2O3,
SiO2, and CaO.

Homework Equations



There is a table that has abundances of elemental atoms (per 1000 Si atoms)
Na 60
O 19000
Fe 890
Mg 1070
Al 83
Si 1000 (obviously)
Ca 65

the table as relevant molar masses as well

The Attempt at a Solution



What I did was assume that:

mass of (Na2O + MgO + Al2O3 + SiO2 + CaO + Fe) = Mearth
since all the abundances are given per Si atoms, I want to put everything in terms of per Si atom. I started with the lone Fe, and calculated that 1 Si atom -> 0.89 Fe atoms -> 1.48e-24mol -> 8.26e-23 g/Si atom. Good, done

but now is where the chemistry comes in -> how do I do this same process for the oxides like CaO and Al2O3. Someone please help
 
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I'm trying to follow what the question is asking; it doesn't seem perfectly clear. I think you should take all the oxides and count those towards your abundances. So, for example you have 19000 Oxygen atoms per Silicon atom. And oxygen appears in CaO, Al2O3, Na2O, MgO,Al2O3, and SiO2. So maybe you need to divide the available abundance of oxygen up into these oxides.

But this question is somewhat outside of my experience.
 
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