Argon Argon Argon is a chemical element with symbol Ar and atomic number 18. It is in group 18 of the periodic table and is a noble gas. Argon is the third-most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere, at 0.934% (9340 ppmv). It is more than twice as abundant as water vapor (which averages about 4000 ppmv, but varies greatly), 23 times as abundant as carbon dioxide (400 ppmv), and more than 500 times as abundant as neon (18 ppmv). Argon is the most abundant noble gas in Earth's crust, comprising 0.00015% of the crust. Nearly all of the argon in
Noble gas noble gases. As a result of a full shell, the noble gases can be used in conjunction with the electron configuration notation to form the "noble gas notation". To do this, the nearest noble gas that precedes the element in question is written first, and then the electron configuration is continued from that point forward. For example, the electron notation of phosphorus is 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p, while the noble gas notation is [Ne] 3s 3p. This more compact notation makes it easier to identify elements, and is shorter than writing out the full notation of atomic orbitals. The