Questions: What is the percent composition of oxygen in carbon dioxide (CO2)?

Solution Steps

First, we need to calculate the molar mass of carbon dioxide (CO\(_2\)). The molar mass is the sum of the atomic masses of all the atoms in the molecule.

• The atomic mass of carbon (C) is approximately 12.01 g/mol.
• The atomic mass of oxygen (O) is approximately 16.00 g/mol.

Since CO\(_2\) has one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms, the molar mass of CO\(_2\) is:

\[ \text{Molar mass of CO}_2 = 12.01 \, \text{g/mol} + 2 \times 16.00 \, \text{g/mol} = 12.01 \, \text{g/mol} + 32.00 \, \text{g/mol} = 44.01 \, \text{g/mol} \]

Next, we calculate the total mass of oxygen in one mole of CO\(_2\). Since there are two oxygen atoms in each molecule of CO\(_2\), the total mass of oxygen is:

\[ \text{Total mass of oxygen} = 2 \times 16.00 \, \text{g/mol} = 32.00 \, \text{g/mol} \]

To find the percent composition of oxygen in CO\(_2\), we use the formula:

\[ \text{Percent composition of oxygen} = \left( \frac{\text{Total mass of oxygen}}{\text{Molar mass of CO}_2} \right) \times 100\% \]

Substituting the values we calculated:

\[ \text{Percent composition of oxygen} = \left( \frac{32.00 \, \text{g/mol}}{44.01 \, \text{g/mol}} \right) \times 100\% \approx 72.72\% \]

Final Answer