Science Grade 9 Handout 5 (for STE and First Section Regular)

Percentage Composition

Compounds are made up of two or more elements. If you

want to know how much of these elements are present in a
compound, determine the percentage composition. The mass
of each element in a compound compared to the entire mass of
the compound multiplied by 100 is called the percentage
composition of the compound. It tells you the percentage of the
mass made up by each element in a compound. Percentage
composition is a part of our daily lives even sometimes when
we are unaware of it.

Let’s take a comparison to an enrolment of one class

section. In a class of 54, there are 20 boys and 34 girls. With this,
what percent of the class are boys and what percent are girls?
How are you going to compute to get the answer? If you have
37% boys and 63% girls, you got the correct computation.
Now, let’s apply this to a sample compound. The
compound carbon dioxide, CO2, plays an important part in vital
plant and animal processes, such as photosynthesis and
respiration. You have described these processes in your science
elementary. CO2 is the chemical formula for carbon dioxide. This
chemical is always present in the environment as it is a product of
animal respiration and a number of natural processes. It is also a
potentially harmful greenhouse gas.
In working with problems involving percentage composition, you
always start with the computation of molar mass, if it is not given
in the problem.

Below is the computation of the molar mass of carbon

dioxide (CO2).
CO2
2 O atoms X atomic mass = 2 X 16.00 g = 32.00 g
1 C atom X atomic mass = 1 X 12.01 g = 12.01 g
44.01 g
This is the total weight (molar mass) of CO2. Now, to know
the percentage composition of Carbon and Oxygen we will divide
their weight with the molar mass of CO2.

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 No. of C atoms X atomic mass
%C = ___________________________________ X 100 %
Molar mass of CO2
(1 C) X (12.01 g)
= ___________________
X 100%
44.01g
12.01
= __________ X 100%
44.01

= 120.01
%
= 27.29%
44.01

____________________
%O = X100
44.01

32.00
= __________
X100 %
44.01

= ___________

Percentage composition of CO2

Carbon
Oxygen

We can now have the general formula for

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the computation of percentage composition.

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% mass of element = # of atoms X atomic mass of the element X 100%
Molar mass o fthe compound

The percentage composition of an element in a compound

is equal to the product of the number of atoms of that element
and its atomic mass divided by the molar mass of the compound
times 100.

Molar mass is the mass of one mole of a substance

expressed in grams.
The molar mass of monoatomic elements like Na, Li, Mg is
numerically equal to its atomic mass expressed in grams. For
compounds, the molar mass is computed by:
1. Identify the elements composing the compound.
2. Multiply the number of formula unit/s of each
element by its atomic mass.
3. Add all the products; the sum is the molar mass ofthe
compound.

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The sample problem below is given for you to realize

more the importance of understanding percentage
composition.

The “fuel value” of the hydrogen-containing fuel depends

on the mass percentage of Hydrogen (H). Rank the following
compounds based on their “fuel value” with 1 as the highest fuel
value and 3 as the one with the lowest value.

a. ethane, (C2H6) b. propane, (C3H8) c. ethanol, (C2H5OH)

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MOLAR MASS OF ETHANE, (C2H6)
= (2C atoms x 12.01 g/mole + (6H atoms x 1.01 g/mole
= (24.02 g/mole + (6.06 g/mole)
= 30.08 g/mole

%H = 6 x 1.01 g/mole
X 100%
30.08 g/mole

= 606 % = 20.15 %
30.08

MOLAR MASS OF C3H8

= (3C atoms x 12.01 g/mole + (8H atoms x 1.01 g/mole
= (36.03 g/mole + (8.08 g/mole)
= 44.11 g/mole

%H = 8 x 1.01 g/mole
X 100%
44.11 g/mole

= 800.08 % = 18.32 %
44.11

MOLAR MASS OF ETHANOL, (C3H8OH)

= (2C atoms x 12.01 g/mole + (6H atoms x 1.01 g/mole)
+ (1 O x 16g/mole)
= (24.02 g/mole + (6.06 g/mole) + 16g/mole
= 46.08 g/mole

%H = 6 x 1.01 g/mole X 100%

46.08 g/mole

= 600.06 % = 13.15 %
46.08

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 So the ranking of the substances based on their “fuel value”:

Rank Substance %H
1 C2H6, ethane 20.15%
2 C3H8, propane 18.32%
3 C2H5OH, ethanol 13.15%

In this sample problem, propane has greater number of H

atom than ethane but it has the higher percentage H, thus it has
the higher “fuel value”. This made you realize that the greater
number of atoms of a certain element in a compound would not
necessarily mean that it will have higher percentage
composition.

1. Soil that is already depleted of the nutrients needs fertilizer.

One of the nutrients needed to replenish the soil is nitrogen. If
you are an agricultural technician helping a farmer, which
among these fertilizers are you going to use?
a. ammonia (NH3)
b. ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4
c. ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3)

2. Glucose, (C6H12O6) is six-Carbon sugar (hexose) which is also

known as the blood sugar. It is an energy source that fuels our
body. How many per cent of carbon is present in glucose?

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www.sciencegeek.net › tables › BasicTable

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 Percentage composition is very simple. Percentage
composition tells you by mass what percent of each element is
present in a compound. A chemical compound is the combination
of two or more elements. If you are studying a chemical compound,
you may want to find the percent composition of a certain element
within that chemical compound. The equation for percent
composition is (mass of element/molecular mass) x 100. If you
want to know the percent composition of the elements in a
compound, follow these steps:
Steps to Solve:
1. Find the molar mass of all the elements in the compound in grams
per mole.
2. Find the molecular mass of the entire compound.
3. Divide the component's molar mass by the entire molecular mass.
4. You will now have a number between 0 and 1. Multiply it by 100 to
get percentage composition!

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Tips for solving:
1. The compounds will always add up to 100%, so in a
binary compound, you can find the % of the first element, then
do 100%-(%first element) to get (% second element)
2. If using a calculator, you can store the overall molar mass to
a variable such as "A". This will speed up calculations, and
reduce typographical errors.

For another example, if you wanted to know the

percentage composition of hydrochloric acid (HCl), first find the
molar mass of Hydrogen. H = 1.00794g. Now find the molecular
mass of HCl: 1.00794g + 35.4527g = 36.46064g. Follow
steps 3 and 4: (1.00794g/36.46064g) x
100 = 2.76% Now just subtract to find the percent by mass of
Chlorine in the compound: 100%-2.76% = 97.24% Therefore,
HCl is 2.76% Hydrogen and 97.24% Chlorine by mass.

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Percentage Composition in Everyday Life
Percent composition plays an important role in everyday
life. It is more than just the amount of chlorine in your
swimming pool because it concerns everything from the money
in your pocket to your health and how you live. The next two
sections describe percent composition as it relates to you.
Nutrition Labels
The nutrition label found on the container of every bit
of processed food sold by the local grocery store employs the
idea of percent composition. On all nutrition labels, a known
serving size is broken down in five categories: Total Fat,
Cholesterol, Sodium, Total Carbohydrate, and Protein. These
categories are broken down into further subcategories,
including Saturated Fat and Dietary Fiber. The mass for each
category, except Protein, is then converted to percent of Daily
Value. Only two subcategories, Saturated Fat and Dietary Fiber
are converted to percent of Daily Value. The Daily Value is
based on a the mass of each category recommended per day
per person for a 2000 calorie diet. The mass of protein is not
converted to percent because there is no recommended daily
value for protein. Following is a picture outlining these ideas.

Source:
https://bit.ly/3xIL51Y

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 For example, if you wanted to know the percent by mass of
the daily value for sodium you are eating when you eat one
serving of the food with this nutrition label, then go to the
category marked sodium. Look across the same row and read
the percent written. If you eat one serving of this food, then you
will have consumed about 9% of your daily recommended value
for sodium. To find the percent mass of fat in the whole food,
you could divide 3.5 grams by 15 grams, and see that this snack
is 23.33% fat.

Problem Solving
1. What is the percentage composition by mass of sulfur in a
CuSO4?
2. Calculate the percentage composition by mass of oxygen
ina compound CaO?

ACTIVITY: PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF SEA SALT VS. IODIZED SALT

Objective:
Realize the significance of percentage composition by
monitoring the intake of a certain substance.

Materials:
Plain salt, iodized salt
Calculator, pen and paper
Procedure:

1. Observe the products in figure A and B. Read each label

carefully.
2. Identify the composition of chemicals present in each product.
3. In a separate sheet of paper, show your computation on the
percentage composition of each element found in a
compound.
4. List down at least 5 benefits of sea salt or iodized salt.

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 Figure A: Sea Salt

Sea salt is produced through evaporation of ocean water

or water from saltwater lakes, usually with little processing.
Depending on the water source, this leaves behind certain trace
minerals and elements. The minerals add flavor and color to sea
salt, which also comes in a variety of coarseness levels.
Basically, the chemical formula of a salt is NaCl.

Figure B: Iodized Salt

Iodine is added as potassium iodate to salt after refining

and drying and before packing. Iodization can often be linked
with existing production and/or refining lines. This can be
done by adding a solution of potassium iodate (KIO3) to the
salt or by adding dry potassium iodate powder. Thus, the
iodized salt is composed of NaCl + little amount of potassium
iodate.