What quantites of heavier elements do supernovae produce?

Factual Questions
1

I realise that not all stars are the same, but I’m just wondering about the sort of quantities of heavier elements produced when a ‘typical’ star goes supernova.

As a rough guide, perhaps it would be useful to express it in terms of the amount of matter in our solar system - did it take many supernovae to fuse the amount of heavier elements that make up our solar system? if so, roughly how many?

2

I am not an astrophysicist. However:

http://cepheid.cfm.udec.cl/~bdirsch/master/node7.html

I’m in way over my head, but I believe that M here refers to solar masses (the mass of our own sun). That’s a lot of iron from one star, since:

So all of the heavy elements is our solar system are just an eyelash worth of the heavy elements that a supenova can produce.

Note, however, that the type of supernova referenced is the most powerful and bright. Others may be weaker, and produce different mixes of elements.

3

I’m not sure this is quantifiable. It’s a little like asking how many dunes the sands that covered the pyramids came from.

At the time of the earth’s formation, the galaxy was awash in the products of many supernovas, each flung out in all directions. Whatever was in our vicinity coalesced to form the solar system.

The trigger for that may have been a supernova, though.

From The Big Splat, by Dana Mackenzie:

4

There’s actually a fairly good answer easily available. Find a table of cosmic abundances of the elements (which differs from what the earth’s crust consists of – a point leading to the “K-T iridium spike” data in support of the Chicxulub impact theory).

Realize that 75-90% of the product of the Big Bang was hydrogen and 10-25% helium, with virtually no heavier elements. Make an assumption of how much of the H and He is “primordial” and how much “recycled” through supernovae. Deduct the “primordial” quantity. You now have a list of what the average supernova formed and in what quantities.

5

Sorry to ressurect this thread, but I have only just found it again- things get buried so quickly here.
Thank you for the link
http://cepheid.cfm.udec.cl/~bdirsch/master/node7.html
Toadspittle, that is one of the most fascinating I have seen- if only mre research could be presented in that format.

One thing, though- I think there is a kind of supernova bigger than a SNe Ia - the typeIII or Hypernova
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypernova
which are very infrequent, but devastating-
perhaps more active in forming stars by light pressure than other kinds?

SF worldbuilding at
http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html