Chemical element chemical bonds, they form chemical compounds. Only a minority of elements are found uncombined as relatively pure minerals. Among the more common of such native elements are copper, silver, gold, carbon (as coal, graphite, or diamonds), and sulfur. All but a few of the most inert elements, such as noble gases and noble metals, are usually found on Earth in chemically combined form, as chemical compounds. While about 32 of the chemical elements occur on Earth in native uncombined forms, most of these occur as mixtures. For example, atmospheric air is primarily a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and argon, and
Chemical equilibrium of the concentrations at the given temperature and pressure. (See Thermodynamic databases for pure substances.) Note that the second equation is just the initial constraints for minimization. This method of calculating equilibrium chemical concentrations is useful for systems with a large number of different molecules. The use of "k" atomic element conservation equations for the mass constraint is straightforward, and replaces the use of the stoichiometric coefficient equations. The results are consistent with those specified by chemical equations. For example, if equilibrium is specified by a single chemical equation: , where ν is the stochiometric coefficient for the "j" th