Chemical composition of seawater











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Is it true that the sea water is composed of about $86%$ oxygen, $11%$ hydrogen and $3%$ of minerals? The chemical formula of water is $ce{H2O}$ (two hydrogen and one oxgen) that shows that the number of hydrogen is greater than that of oxygen.



If the number of hydrogen is greater, then why does the sea water consist of $11%$ hydrogen and $86%$ oxygen, which is lesser than the oxygen?



The book which I am reading says which is confusing me:




... Seawater is composed of about $86%$ oxygen, $11%$ hydrogen and $3%$ of minerals, consisting mainly of sodium and chlorine.











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    Is it true that the sea water is composed of about $86%$ oxygen, $11%$ hydrogen and $3%$ of minerals? The chemical formula of water is $ce{H2O}$ (two hydrogen and one oxgen) that shows that the number of hydrogen is greater than that of oxygen.



    If the number of hydrogen is greater, then why does the sea water consist of $11%$ hydrogen and $86%$ oxygen, which is lesser than the oxygen?



    The book which I am reading says which is confusing me:




    ... Seawater is composed of about $86%$ oxygen, $11%$ hydrogen and $3%$ of minerals, consisting mainly of sodium and chlorine.











    share|improve this question









    New contributor




    Ahmed is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.






















      up vote
      1
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      1
      down vote

      favorite











      Is it true that the sea water is composed of about $86%$ oxygen, $11%$ hydrogen and $3%$ of minerals? The chemical formula of water is $ce{H2O}$ (two hydrogen and one oxgen) that shows that the number of hydrogen is greater than that of oxygen.



      If the number of hydrogen is greater, then why does the sea water consist of $11%$ hydrogen and $86%$ oxygen, which is lesser than the oxygen?



      The book which I am reading says which is confusing me:




      ... Seawater is composed of about $86%$ oxygen, $11%$ hydrogen and $3%$ of minerals, consisting mainly of sodium and chlorine.











      share|improve this question









      New contributor




      Ahmed is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      Is it true that the sea water is composed of about $86%$ oxygen, $11%$ hydrogen and $3%$ of minerals? The chemical formula of water is $ce{H2O}$ (two hydrogen and one oxgen) that shows that the number of hydrogen is greater than that of oxygen.



      If the number of hydrogen is greater, then why does the sea water consist of $11%$ hydrogen and $86%$ oxygen, which is lesser than the oxygen?



      The book which I am reading says which is confusing me:




      ... Seawater is composed of about $86%$ oxygen, $11%$ hydrogen and $3%$ of minerals, consisting mainly of sodium and chlorine.








      water elements






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      Ahmed is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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      edited 6 hours ago









      andselisk

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          The book that you're reading is measuring by mass.



          If you have pure water then you would expect oxygen to make up $frac{16}{16 + 2}times 100% approx 89 % $ by mass. Likewise, hydrogen would make up $frac{2}{16 + 2}times 100% approx 11 % $ by mass.






          share|improve this answer




























            up vote
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            As it has already been mentioned, these are mass percentages, which are a bit imprecise. For the reference, CRC handbook of chemistry and physics [1, p. 14-17] lists elements' abundances in seawater near the surface in $pu{mg L-1}$, alphabetically. I took 15 (starting with 16th element $omega < 10^{-4}~%$) most abundant elements from that array and calculated mass percentage for each:



            begin{array}{llr}
            hline
            text{Element} & rho_i/pu{mg L-1} & omega/% \
            hline
            ce{O} & pu{8.57E5} & 85.8443 \
            ce{H} & pu{1.08E5} & 10.8182 \
            ce{Cl} & pu{1.94E4} & 1.9433 \
            ce{Na} & pu{1.08E4} & 1.0818 \
            ce{Mg} & pu{1.29E3} & 0.1292 \
            ce{S} & pu{9.05E2} & 0.0907 \
            ce{Ca} & pu{4.12E2} & 0.0413 \
            ce{K} & pu{3.99E2} & 0.0400 \
            ce{Br} & pu{6.73E1} & 0.0067 \
            ce{C} & pu{2.80E1} & 0.0028 \
            ce{Sr} & pu{7.9} & 0.0008 \
            ce{B} & pu{4.44} & 0.0004 \
            ce{Si} & pu{2.2} & 0.0002 \
            ce{F} & pu{1.3} & 0.0001 \
            ce{N} & pu{5.00E-1} & 0.0001 \
            hline
            end{array}



            References




            1. Haynes, W. M.; Lide, D. R.; Bruno, T. J. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics: A Ready-Reference Book of Chemical and Physical Data.; 2017; Vol. 97.






            share|improve this answer























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              2 Answers
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              2 Answers
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              up vote
              4
              down vote













              The book that you're reading is measuring by mass.



              If you have pure water then you would expect oxygen to make up $frac{16}{16 + 2}times 100% approx 89 % $ by mass. Likewise, hydrogen would make up $frac{2}{16 + 2}times 100% approx 11 % $ by mass.






              share|improve this answer

























                up vote
                4
                down vote













                The book that you're reading is measuring by mass.



                If you have pure water then you would expect oxygen to make up $frac{16}{16 + 2}times 100% approx 89 % $ by mass. Likewise, hydrogen would make up $frac{2}{16 + 2}times 100% approx 11 % $ by mass.






                share|improve this answer























                  up vote
                  4
                  down vote










                  up vote
                  4
                  down vote









                  The book that you're reading is measuring by mass.



                  If you have pure water then you would expect oxygen to make up $frac{16}{16 + 2}times 100% approx 89 % $ by mass. Likewise, hydrogen would make up $frac{2}{16 + 2}times 100% approx 11 % $ by mass.






                  share|improve this answer












                  The book that you're reading is measuring by mass.



                  If you have pure water then you would expect oxygen to make up $frac{16}{16 + 2}times 100% approx 89 % $ by mass. Likewise, hydrogen would make up $frac{2}{16 + 2}times 100% approx 11 % $ by mass.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 7 hours ago









                  PJ R

                  65710




                  65710






















                      up vote
                      3
                      down vote













                      As it has already been mentioned, these are mass percentages, which are a bit imprecise. For the reference, CRC handbook of chemistry and physics [1, p. 14-17] lists elements' abundances in seawater near the surface in $pu{mg L-1}$, alphabetically. I took 15 (starting with 16th element $omega < 10^{-4}~%$) most abundant elements from that array and calculated mass percentage for each:



                      begin{array}{llr}
                      hline
                      text{Element} & rho_i/pu{mg L-1} & omega/% \
                      hline
                      ce{O} & pu{8.57E5} & 85.8443 \
                      ce{H} & pu{1.08E5} & 10.8182 \
                      ce{Cl} & pu{1.94E4} & 1.9433 \
                      ce{Na} & pu{1.08E4} & 1.0818 \
                      ce{Mg} & pu{1.29E3} & 0.1292 \
                      ce{S} & pu{9.05E2} & 0.0907 \
                      ce{Ca} & pu{4.12E2} & 0.0413 \
                      ce{K} & pu{3.99E2} & 0.0400 \
                      ce{Br} & pu{6.73E1} & 0.0067 \
                      ce{C} & pu{2.80E1} & 0.0028 \
                      ce{Sr} & pu{7.9} & 0.0008 \
                      ce{B} & pu{4.44} & 0.0004 \
                      ce{Si} & pu{2.2} & 0.0002 \
                      ce{F} & pu{1.3} & 0.0001 \
                      ce{N} & pu{5.00E-1} & 0.0001 \
                      hline
                      end{array}



                      References




                      1. Haynes, W. M.; Lide, D. R.; Bruno, T. J. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics: A Ready-Reference Book of Chemical and Physical Data.; 2017; Vol. 97.






                      share|improve this answer



























                        up vote
                        3
                        down vote













                        As it has already been mentioned, these are mass percentages, which are a bit imprecise. For the reference, CRC handbook of chemistry and physics [1, p. 14-17] lists elements' abundances in seawater near the surface in $pu{mg L-1}$, alphabetically. I took 15 (starting with 16th element $omega < 10^{-4}~%$) most abundant elements from that array and calculated mass percentage for each:



                        begin{array}{llr}
                        hline
                        text{Element} & rho_i/pu{mg L-1} & omega/% \
                        hline
                        ce{O} & pu{8.57E5} & 85.8443 \
                        ce{H} & pu{1.08E5} & 10.8182 \
                        ce{Cl} & pu{1.94E4} & 1.9433 \
                        ce{Na} & pu{1.08E4} & 1.0818 \
                        ce{Mg} & pu{1.29E3} & 0.1292 \
                        ce{S} & pu{9.05E2} & 0.0907 \
                        ce{Ca} & pu{4.12E2} & 0.0413 \
                        ce{K} & pu{3.99E2} & 0.0400 \
                        ce{Br} & pu{6.73E1} & 0.0067 \
                        ce{C} & pu{2.80E1} & 0.0028 \
                        ce{Sr} & pu{7.9} & 0.0008 \
                        ce{B} & pu{4.44} & 0.0004 \
                        ce{Si} & pu{2.2} & 0.0002 \
                        ce{F} & pu{1.3} & 0.0001 \
                        ce{N} & pu{5.00E-1} & 0.0001 \
                        hline
                        end{array}



                        References




                        1. Haynes, W. M.; Lide, D. R.; Bruno, T. J. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics: A Ready-Reference Book of Chemical and Physical Data.; 2017; Vol. 97.






                        share|improve this answer

























                          up vote
                          3
                          down vote










                          up vote
                          3
                          down vote









                          As it has already been mentioned, these are mass percentages, which are a bit imprecise. For the reference, CRC handbook of chemistry and physics [1, p. 14-17] lists elements' abundances in seawater near the surface in $pu{mg L-1}$, alphabetically. I took 15 (starting with 16th element $omega < 10^{-4}~%$) most abundant elements from that array and calculated mass percentage for each:



                          begin{array}{llr}
                          hline
                          text{Element} & rho_i/pu{mg L-1} & omega/% \
                          hline
                          ce{O} & pu{8.57E5} & 85.8443 \
                          ce{H} & pu{1.08E5} & 10.8182 \
                          ce{Cl} & pu{1.94E4} & 1.9433 \
                          ce{Na} & pu{1.08E4} & 1.0818 \
                          ce{Mg} & pu{1.29E3} & 0.1292 \
                          ce{S} & pu{9.05E2} & 0.0907 \
                          ce{Ca} & pu{4.12E2} & 0.0413 \
                          ce{K} & pu{3.99E2} & 0.0400 \
                          ce{Br} & pu{6.73E1} & 0.0067 \
                          ce{C} & pu{2.80E1} & 0.0028 \
                          ce{Sr} & pu{7.9} & 0.0008 \
                          ce{B} & pu{4.44} & 0.0004 \
                          ce{Si} & pu{2.2} & 0.0002 \
                          ce{F} & pu{1.3} & 0.0001 \
                          ce{N} & pu{5.00E-1} & 0.0001 \
                          hline
                          end{array}



                          References




                          1. Haynes, W. M.; Lide, D. R.; Bruno, T. J. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics: A Ready-Reference Book of Chemical and Physical Data.; 2017; Vol. 97.






                          share|improve this answer














                          As it has already been mentioned, these are mass percentages, which are a bit imprecise. For the reference, CRC handbook of chemistry and physics [1, p. 14-17] lists elements' abundances in seawater near the surface in $pu{mg L-1}$, alphabetically. I took 15 (starting with 16th element $omega < 10^{-4}~%$) most abundant elements from that array and calculated mass percentage for each:



                          begin{array}{llr}
                          hline
                          text{Element} & rho_i/pu{mg L-1} & omega/% \
                          hline
                          ce{O} & pu{8.57E5} & 85.8443 \
                          ce{H} & pu{1.08E5} & 10.8182 \
                          ce{Cl} & pu{1.94E4} & 1.9433 \
                          ce{Na} & pu{1.08E4} & 1.0818 \
                          ce{Mg} & pu{1.29E3} & 0.1292 \
                          ce{S} & pu{9.05E2} & 0.0907 \
                          ce{Ca} & pu{4.12E2} & 0.0413 \
                          ce{K} & pu{3.99E2} & 0.0400 \
                          ce{Br} & pu{6.73E1} & 0.0067 \
                          ce{C} & pu{2.80E1} & 0.0028 \
                          ce{Sr} & pu{7.9} & 0.0008 \
                          ce{B} & pu{4.44} & 0.0004 \
                          ce{Si} & pu{2.2} & 0.0002 \
                          ce{F} & pu{1.3} & 0.0001 \
                          ce{N} & pu{5.00E-1} & 0.0001 \
                          hline
                          end{array}



                          References




                          1. Haynes, W. M.; Lide, D. R.; Bruno, T. J. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics: A Ready-Reference Book of Chemical and Physical Data.; 2017; Vol. 97.







                          share|improve this answer














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