Question

analyze the pie chart, which shows the abundance of elements in earth’s crust.
abundance of elements in earth’s crust
pie chart with segments: oxygen 46%, silicon 28%, aluminium 8%, iron 5%, calcium 4%, sodium 3%, potassium 2%, magnesium 2%, all others 2%. legend: oxygen (blue), silicon (orange), aluminium (green), iron (purple), calcium (red), sodium (teal), potassium (orange), magnesium (blue), all others (light green).
which list orders the elements in earth’s crust from least abundant to most abundant?
○ aluminum, iron, magnesium, gold
○ gold, aluminum, iron, magnesium
○ gold, magnesium, iron, aluminum
○ iron, aluminum, gold, magnesium

Explanation:

1. First, identify the abundances from the pie chart: Gold is part of "All others" (2%), Magnesium is 2%, Iron is 5%, Aluminum is 8%.
2. Order from least to most: Gold (2%) < Magnesium (2%)? Wait, no, wait the options. Wait the options have gold, then magnesium, iron, aluminum. Wait let's re - check:

• Gold is in "All others" (2%).
• Magnesium: 2%? Wait no, the legend: Magnesium is a separate category with 2%? Wait the pie chart segments: "All others" is 2%, Magnesium is 2%? Wait no, the labels: the small segments: 2% (All others), 2% (Magnesium), 2% (Potassium), 3% (Sodium), 4% (Calcium), 5% (Iron), 8% (Aluminum), 28% (Silicon), 46% (Oxygen). Wait, but gold is in "All others", so gold's abundance is less than Magnesium? No, wait "All others" includes gold, so gold is less abundant than Magnesium (since Magnesium is a separate 2%? Wait no, maybe I misread. Wait the options: let's look at the options. The third option is gold, magnesium, iron, aluminum. Let's check the abundances:
• Gold: part of "All others" (2%), so very low.
• Magnesium: 2% (from the pie chart, the blue small segment is 2% for Magnesium).
• Iron: 5% (purple segment).
• Aluminum: 8% (green segment).

Wait, but Magnesium is 2%, same as "All others" (which includes gold). But in the options, the third option is gold, magnesium, iron, aluminum. Let's check the other options:

• Option 1: aluminum (8%), iron (5%), magnesium (2%), gold (≤2%) → wrong order.
• Option 2: gold (≤2%), aluminum (8%), iron (5%), magnesium (2%) → wrong, since magnesium is 2% less than iron (5%) and aluminum (8%), but aluminum is 8% which is more than iron (5%).
• Option 3: gold (≤2%), magnesium (2%), iron (5%), aluminum (8%) → this is correct as gold (in all others, very low) < magnesium (2%)? Wait, no, magnesium is 2%, and "All others" is 2%, but gold is a part of "All others", so gold's abundance is less than or equal to 2%, and magnesium is 2%. But among the options, this is the only one that has the order from least (gold) to magnesium (2%) to iron (5%) to aluminum (8%).
• Option 4: iron (5%), aluminum (8%), gold (≤2%), magnesium (2%) → wrong order.

Answer:

C. gold, magnesium, iron, aluminum (assuming the third option is labeled C, but in the given options, the third option is "gold, magnesium, iron, aluminum")