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Verbal·Expression of Ideas·Rhetorical Synthesis

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While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• An element’s relative abundance in a given environment can be expressed as a mass fraction, mole fraction, or volume fraction.
• Mass fraction is the ratio of an element’s mass to the combined mass of all elements in a given environment.
• The mass fraction of silicon is 161,000 parts per million (ppm) on Earth.
• The mass fraction of potassium is 160 ppm on Earth.

The student wants to compare the relative abundance of silicon on Earth to that of potassium. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A

On Earth, potassium is far less abundant than silicon, based on the mass fraction of the two elements.

B

Silicon’s mass relative to the combined mass of all elements on Earth is 161,000 ppm.

C

Unlike potassium, silicon has a mass fraction on Earth of 161,000 ppm.

D

The relative abundance of silicon and potassium on Earth can be expressed as a mass fraction, mole fraction, or volume fraction.