Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Earth. It has a concentration in the Earth's crust of about 0.1%, less abundant than hydrogen but more than manganese. In minerals, phosphorus generally occurs as phosphate.
Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Earth It has a concentration in the Earth's crust of about 0.1%, less abundant than hydrogen but more than manganese In minerals phosphorus generally occurs as phosphate.