A 36 gram sample contains 28 grams of Fe and 8 grams of oxygen. Determine the percent composition for each of the elements.

Question

Answer g Fe/ Answer g of sample x 100 = Answer% of Fe

Answer g O/ Answer g of sample x 100 = Answer% of O

Answer 1

The percent composition will equal the mass of each element over the total mass of the sample multiplied by 100. This can be represented as follows:

% Composition = (mass element/mass sample) 100

For Iron, we have:

% Composition = (28 grams/ 36 grams) 100 = 77.8 %

For Oxygen, we have:

% Composition = (8 grams/ 36 grams) 100 = 22.2 %