James was given a sample of sodium bicarbonate nahco3 in a weighing dish to analyze. his teacher asked him to find the percent of each element in the compound. he easily calculated the first three elements, but was stumped when he got to oxygen. what is the percent oxygen in the compound? round to the nearest whole number.

57.14 % ≈ 57 %

Explanation:

First step is to find the molar mass of the compound. This is done by adding the atomic masses of the elements present.

The atomic masses of the elements are given below;

Na = 22.99 g/mol

H = 1.01 g/mol

C = 12.01 g/mol

O = 16.00 g/mol

NaHCO3 = (1 mol * Na) + (1 mol * H) + ( 1 mol * C) + (3 mol * O)

NaHCO3 = (1 * 22.99) + (1 * 1.01) + (1 * 12.01) + (3 * 16)

NaHCO3 = 22.99 + 1.01 + 12.01 + 48

NaHCO3 = 84.01g

Formular for percentage composition;

Percentage composition = (Mass of element / Mass of Compound) * 100

Percentage composition = (48 / 84.01) * 100

Percentage composition = 57.14 %

Rounding up to the nearest whole number = 57 %