Final answer:
Silicon is the second most abundant element in Earth's crust, essential for the composition of minerals forming rocks, soils, and clays, and widely used in technology and construction materials.
Step-by-step explanation:
The second most abundant element in Earth's crust, which is also a principal component of sand and quartz, and is utilized in solar cells, computer chips, caulking materials, and abrasives, is Silicon (Choice B). Silicon makes up nearly one-quarter of the Earth's crust by mass, coming in second after oxygen in terms of abundance. A vast majority of the Earth's crust is composed of silicate minerals, featuring silicon atoms at the center of silicon-oxygen tetrahedron. These tetrahedra connect in various forms, creating the structures found in a wide range of common rocks, soils, clays, as well as in the production materials for bricks, ceramics, and glass.