Calculating the percentage of an element in a compound

Last updated on March 10th, 2022 at 04:53 pm

Here, with an example, we will see how to calculate the percentage of an element in a compound.

Relative atomic masses can also be used to calculate the percentage of different elements in a compound.

For example:
carbon dioxide (CO₂) contains 12 g of carbon and 2 × 16 g of oxygen in 44 g of carbon dioxide.

So, in terms of mass, it contains 12/44 parts carbon and 32/44 parts oxygen

=> (12/44)x100 = 27% Carbon and (32/44)x100% =73% of Oxygen