Final answer:
To determine the percent composition of sulfuric acid (H2SO4), you need to calculate the percentage that each element contributes to the overall mass of the compound. The percent composition of sulfuric acid is approximately 16.33% sulfur, 32.65% oxygen, and 2.04% hydrogen.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is a compound composed of hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. To determine the percent composition of sulfuric acid, we need to calculate the percentage that each element contributes to the overall mass of the compound.
To do this, we divide the mass of each element by the total mass of the compound and multiply by 100. In this case, the mass of sulfur is 32.0 g, the mass of oxygen is 64.0 g, and the mass of hydrogen is 4.0 g. The total mass of the compound is 196.0 g. Therefore, the percent composition of sulfuric acid is:
Sulfur: (32.0 g / 196.0 g) x 100 = 16.33%
Oxygen: (64.0 g / 196.0 g) x 100 = 32.65%
Hydrogen: (4.0 g / 196.0 g) x 100 = 2.04%
The percentages add up to approximately 50.02%, as some rounding may have occurred in the calculation.