Question

Second most abundant element in the universe (after hydrogen) is:
A. Al
B. Fe
C. He
D. Ne

Answer 1

Hint:
We know that the meaning of abundance of elements in nature is the amount of occurrence of that chemical element in the universe. The abundance of the element is generally being measured in three ways: one is mass fraction, the second is mole fraction, and the third is volume fraction.

Complete step by step solution
As we all know, the first abundant element in the universe is hydrogen, and the second is helium.

Helium is one of the noble gas, and it has two electrons in the outermost valence shell. The valence shell of helium is complete, so it does not take the electrons or lose the electrons. Helium does not react with other elements easily and comes under the category of inert gas. It is colourless, odourless and non-toxic gas. The helium gas that is $He$ is one of the monatomic inert gas. It has a lower boiling point than all the other elements present in the periodic table.

Therefore, the second most abundant element in the universe after hydrogen is helium.
Hence, the correct option for this question is C that is helium.

Note:
The main uses of helium gas is written below.
1. It is used in the airbags.
2. It is used to clean the rocket fuel tank.
3. It is used in respiratory treatment mainly for asthma.
4. It is used in computer hard drives.
5. It is used in the party balloons.
6. It is used in arc welding.