Department of Education

Division of Quezon
Perez National High School
Perez, Quezon

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Lesson 1: Formation of the First Elements

I. Formation of the Elements

There are 118 elements in the periodic table. Each of these elements have their own functions and
uses. But where did these elements come from in the first place?

The lightest elements (hydrogen, helium, deuterium or heavy hydrogen) were produced in the Big
Bang nucleosynthesis. According to the Big Bang theory, the temperatures in the early universe were so
high that fusion reactions could take place. This resulted in the formation of light elements: hydrogen,
deuterium, and helium.

Nuclear fusion in stars converts hydrogen into helium in all stars. Further reactions that convert
helium to carbon and oxygen take place in successive stages of stellar evolution. In the very massive stars,
the reaction chain continues to produce elements like silicon up to iron.

Elements higher than iron cannot be formed through fusion as one has to supply energy for the
reaction to take place. However, we do see elements higher than iron around us. So how did these elements
form? The answer is supernova.

These astronomical phenomena is the key to the formation and evolution of the elements in the
universe. And with these catastrophic events come the beginning of everything.

A. The Big Bang

The Big Bang Theory is the leading explanation about how the universe began. At its
simplest, it says the universe as we know it started with a small singularity, then inflated over the
next 13.8 billion years to the cosmos that we know today.

The Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN)

- also known as primordial nucleosynthesis, arch(a)eonucleosynthesis,

archonucleosynthesis, protonucleosynthesis and pal(a)eonucleosynthesis
- Refers to the production of nuclei other than those of the lightest isotope
of hydrogen during the early phases of the Universe.
- Believed to have taken place in the interval from roughly 10 seconds to 20 minutes
after the Big Bang and is calculated to be responsible for the formation of most of the
universe's hydrogen and helium.

The First Elements in the Universe

1. Hydrogen
2. Helium

B. Stellar Evolution

Hydrogen and Helium are the only elements believed to be formed after the Big Bang.
Other elements heavier than Hydrogen and Helium formed from the evolution of the stars.

Stellar evolution is the process by which a star changes over the course of time.
Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years for the most
massive to trillions of years for the least massive, which is considerably longer than the age of
the universe.
Two Types of Stellar Evolution of Elements

1. Star Nucleosynthesis

- Stars exist approximately 400 million years after the Big Bang.
- The first stars are called Hydrogen Giants. 100 times larger than the sun.
- Stars converts (H) into (He). (90% of the life of the stars)
- From (He) to (C) and (O). Then so on until all that is left is (Fe).

2. Supernova Nucleosynthesis

- Refers to the formation of elements heavier than Iron (Fe) which occurs in an event
called supernova or the explosion of a star.
- Elements higher than iron cannot be formed through fusion as one have to supply energy
for the reaction to take place.
- In a supernova, enough energy was supplied to Iron atoms.
- Iron atoms were then turned into elements heavier that iron.
- From Copper, Gallium, Arsenic, then so on until the heaviest naturally occurring elemnt
was formed which is uranium.

C. Distribution of Elements

Most standard matter is found in intergalactic gas, stars, and interstellar clouds, in the form
of atoms or ions (plasma), although it can be found in degenerate forms in extreme astrophysical
settings, such as the high densities inside white dwarfs and neutron stars.

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe; helium is second. However,
after this, the rank of abundance does not continue to correspond to the atomic
number; oxygen has abundance rank 3, but atomic number 8. All others are substantially less
common.

Elements in the Universe

- Hydrogen (H) – 74%

- Helium (He) – 24%
- Heavy Elements – 2%

Most Abundant Element in Milky Way

1. Hydrogen 6. Neon
2. Helium 7. Magnesium
3. Carbon 8. Silicon
4. Nitrogen 9. Sulfur
5. Oxygen 10. Iron

D. Nuclear Fusion in Stars and Supernova

As the stars evolved over the next million of years, the

elements also changed and evolved through the process of the
combination of atoms. This process is called “Nuclear
Fusion”

Starting from a small, young, yellow star,

successive nuclear reactions occurred until it became a
giant red star.
 This model is known as the
“onion skin structure”. It is a model
used to describe stellar evolution and
how elements heavier than hydrogen
and helium were formed.

At the first stage of stars’ life, it

is only a huge ball of hydrogen and
helium. This stage is still unstable as
the star tries to be more compact and to
be more compressed.

As the star stabilized, the heavier element, Helium, settled than at the center. This creates a
Helium core.

At this stage, the star began to become

hotter and hotter. This increase in temperature in
the star leads to Hydrogen fusion, thus creating a
new region in the star.

The reactions in the Hydrogen Fusion shell

is shown on the right.

When the core reached temperature enough for helium fusion, helium burning began. Helium
fused with another Helium produced Be. And
fused again with another He, it produced carbon.
This also replaced Helium Core with a Carbon
Core.

The nuclear fusion that occurred at this stage is:

Next, the carbon fused to produce Neon within the carbon Fusion Shell. This process continues
until the star became an adult star called “RED GIANT”. At this time, Iron was formed and this is also
the time where the fusion stopped.

These are the process involved in producing elements until the Iron was formed:
 Iron was the last element to be formed in stars. Other elements heavier than Iron were
formed when a star dies and explode. This event is called supernova or hypernova if the
explosion is very massive.

At an event of a supernova, Neutron Capture Reactions take place. This is the process
that leads to the formation of other elements heavier than Iron (From Co – U). Neutron Capture
Reactions can be categorized into two:
1. r – process
2. s – process

r – process or rapid process

r – process or rapid process is a type of Neutron

Capture Reaction which occurred very fast that seed
nucleus turned into a relatively heavier nucleus before beta
decay took place.

s – process or rapid process

s – process or slow process is a type of Neutron

Capture Reaction which occurred very slow that beta
decay of the product isotope happened before it captured
another neutron.

ACTIVITY I: Timeline of the Formation of Elements

Complete the timeline of the formation of elements below by supplying the missing
information.
HUMAN AND
BIG
SCIENCE
COSMIC EVENT: BANG

200 million Following

YEAR: 0 13.8
years billions of years
billion years
HYDROGEN
ELEMENTS FORMED: AND
HELIUM

Prepared by:
Engr. Mark Daries Q. Sardea