What element is extensively used in ammonia, artificial fertilizers, and explosive compounds?

The correct answer is nitrogen, which plays a crucial role in various biological and chemical processes. Nitrogen is a key component of ammonia (NH3), which is synthesized from nitrogen and hydrogen gases in the Haber process. Ammonia is a primary building block for numerous artificial fertilizers, which are essential in agriculture to enhance plant growth by providing essential nutrients.

Moreover, nitrogen compounds are also critical in the production of explosives, such as dynamite and ammonium nitrate, which derive their explosive properties from the rapid decomposition of nitrogen-rich compounds.

While oxygen, phosphorus, and carbon do have significant roles in chemistry and biological systems, they do not share the same direct connection to ammonia and its related applications like nitrogen does. Oxygen is vital for combustion and respiration, phosphorus is important in energy transfer and nucleic acids, and carbon is fundamental to organic chemistry. However, none of these elements are as extensively linked to ammonia and its uses in fertilizers and explosives as nitrogen.