Therefore, the element ratios can be applied to the study of trace element characteristics of rocks in the tholeiite source region.

After all, the Sun has many more atoms of any element, say iron, than does a meteorite specimen, but the ratios of iron to silicon in the two kinds of matter might be comparable.

By analyzing ratios of isotopes — variations of the same element with a different mass - he can learn things about the environment they lived in, such as temperature and salinity.