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What is the total number of naturally occurring elements?
Explanation
The total number of naturally occurring elements is 94. While it was historically believed that only 92 elements (up to Uranium) occurred naturally, scientific advancements have confirmed that Neptunium (93) and Plutonium (94) also exist in nature in trace amounts. Elements 1 through 94 are found on Earth, although some like Technetium (43) and Promethium (61) are extremely rare and were synthesized in laboratories before being identified in nature as products of radioactive decay or spontaneous fission. Elements beyond Plutonium are strictly synthetic, produced in reactors or accelerators. Although some sources suggest trace amounts of elements up to 98 might exist briefly, the standard scientific consensus for the total count of naturally occurring elements on Earth is 94.
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