Understanding Relative Abundance in Chemistry: A Comprehensive Guide

[sinnie16]

Man, I have a lab report for Chemistry due on Monday, and I've been working on in for a week. I have one problem.

What does relative abundance tell you?

I've searched on Google and even looked in the index of my Chemistry book. Nada. Nil. Cero.

Any help is very much appreciated!

 

[enigma]

I'm not familiar with the term. What are the units on it?

 

[Bystander]

"Relative abundance?" Check a few geochem sources; cosmic,solar, terrestrial, and crustal abundances are sometimes expressed as "relative abundances" --- usually per 10k Si (why 10k? Why not?)

Edit: Just got back from prowling "Yoohoo" --- " per 1M Si" --- so, it's been a few years.

Really, "relative abundance" in any search engine will give you more information than enough on "relative abundance" of everything from "the common grebe in marshlands of eastern N. Amer." to the more familiar (to me) elemental abundances.

The name of the game is to pick a "standard" component of a system that is "inert/unaffected" by variables which interest you, and to measure/quantify the abundances of other components which are affected by comparing their abundances to your "inert" standard, hence, "relative abundance."