539
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 17:
Line 17: + +
no edit summary
Oxygen is the third most abundant element in the universe by mass after [[hydrogen]] and [[helium]]; approximately 5.9% of the mass of our [[solar system]] consists of oxygen. However due to the large disparity in atomic weight between all isotopes of oxygen compared with <sup>1</sup>H and <sup>4</sup>He, less than 0.5% of the atoms in the solar system are oxygen atoms.
Oxygen is the third most abundant element in the universe by mass after [[hydrogen]] and [[helium]]; approximately 5.9% of the mass of our [[solar system]] consists of oxygen. However due to the large disparity in atomic weight between all isotopes of oxygen compared with <sup>1</sup>H and <sup>4</sup>He, less than 0.5% of the atoms in the solar system are oxygen atoms.
Due to its reactivity free oxygen is extremely rare in nature and would not exist on Earth without the process of [[photosynthesis]]. Geologists and evolutionists believe that free oxygen first appeared during the "Great Oxygenation Event" around 2.4 billion years ago. Due to the extreme claimed age of this event the hypothesis is generally rejected by Creation scientists.