Understanding Percentages
Percentages represent parts out of a hundred. So, in this case:
* 43.3% sodium means 43.3 grams of sodium are present in every 100 grams of the compound.
* 11.3% carbon means 11.3 grams of carbon are present in every 100 grams of the compound.
* 45.3% oxygen means 45.3 grams of oxygen are present in every 100 grams of the compound.
Example
Let's say you have a 100 gram sample of this compound. You would have:
* 43.3 grams of sodium
* 11.3 grams of carbon
* 45.3 grams of oxygen
For Any Sample Size
To calculate the amount of each element in any size sample, you can use a proportion:
* Sodium: (43.3 g sodium / 100 g compound) = (x g sodium / y g compound)
* Carbon: (11.3 g carbon / 100 g compound) = (x g carbon / y g compound)
* Oxygen: (45.3 g oxygen / 100 g compound) = (x g oxygen / y g compound)
Where:
* x is the unknown mass of the element you're trying to find
* y is the total mass of the compound
Example
If you have a 250 gram sample of the compound, you can calculate the mass of each element like this:
* Sodium: (43.3 g sodium / 100 g compound) = (x g sodium / 250 g compound)
Solving for x: x = (43.3 g sodium * 250 g compound) / 100 g compound = 108.25 g sodium
* Carbon: (11.3 g carbon / 100 g compound) = (x g carbon / 250 g compound)
Solving for x: x = (11.3 g carbon * 250 g compound) / 100 g compound = 28.25 g carbon
* Oxygen: (45.3 g oxygen / 100 g compound) = (x g oxygen / 250 g compound)
Solving for x: x = (45.3 g oxygen * 250 g compound) / 100 g compound = 113.25 g oxygen
