Final answer:
When a person eats two grams of salt, they consume 800 mg of sodium, since salt is composed of roughly 40% sodium and this calculation is based on the fact that 0.4 grams of sodium are in 1 gram of salt.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate how much sodium is consumed when a person eats two grams of salt, it is important to understand that table salt, or sodium chloride (NaCl), is composed of about 40% sodium and 60% chloride by weight. Therefore, for every gram of salt consumed, there is 0.4 grams (or 400 milligrams) of sodium.
By using simple multiplication, we can find the sodium content in two grams of salt:
- (0.4 grams of sodium/1 gram of salt) × 2 grams of salt = 0.8 grams of sodium
- Since there are 1000 milligrams (mg) in a gram, we convert 0.8 grams to milligrams:
- 0.8 grams × 1000 mg/gram = 800 mg
Therefore, the correct amount of sodium consumed from two grams of salt is 800 mg, which corresponds to option (b).