Siderophile Elements (Iron-Loving): Elements like iron, nickel, and platinum prefer bonding with metallic iron and are more abundant in the Earth’s core than in the crust. Learn about the eight most common elements in the outermost layer of the Earth, the lithosphere, and their properties and uses. Oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium are the elements that make up most of the crust's mass. Oxygen is the most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, at 461,000 parts per million. This means it makes up roughly 46% of the Earth’s crust. Within the universe at large, Oxygen ranks number three in abundance. Oxygen makes up 21% of the Earth’s atmosphere and 90% of the mass of water. The rarest elements in the crust are not the heaviest, but are rather the siderophile elements (iron-loving) in the Goldschmidt classification of elements. These have been depleted by being relocated deeper into the Earth's core; their abundance in meteoroids is higher.
