Chemical elements production in the universe

Abstract

The chemical elements of the Periodic Table, made up of fundamental particles, form luminous matter (baryonic matter), that is, the raw material of everything we can measure and observe in the Universe, which represents only 5% of it. In Astrophysics, all natural chemical elements in TP are called metals, that is, except for hydrogen and helium and artificial chemical elements. In this text, we present an overview of the production of chemical elements in the Universe and show, using accessible mathematics, why the 2% proportion of metals in our Solar System, which is a representation of chemical evolution in the Universe, has not increased significantly in the last 13.8 billion years. We emphasize, throughout the text, that some Astrophysics concepts can be discussed in the classroom (or outside it), addressing knowledge established by the National Common Curricular Base, to increasingly bring Astrophysics issues to the initial and continuing formation of teachers.