The elements are at the heart of chemistry, and indeed they are at the heart of life as well. Every physical substance encountered in daily life is either an element, or more likely a compound containing more than one element. There are millions of compounds, but only about 100 elements, of which only 88 occur naturally on Earth. How can such vast complexity be created from such a small amount of elements? Consider the English alphabet, with just 26 letters, with which an almost infinite number of things can be said or written. Even more is possible with the elements, which greatly outnumber the letters of the alphabet. Despite the relatively great quantity of elements, however, just two make up almost the entire mass of the universe—and these two are far from abundant on Earth. A very small number of elements, in fact, are essential to life on this planet, and to the existence of human beings.
a.flourie b.oxygen c.bromine