[Campbell Biology P.78] Given the makeup of the human body as presented in Table 2.1, which... | Practice Question
Given the makeup of the human body as presented in Table 2.1, which compound primarily accounts for the high percentage of oxygen?
Explanation
Table 2.1 shows that oxygen makes up 65.0% of the human body's mass, the highest percentage among all elements. The text mentions that "Water H2O , another compound, consists of the elements hydrogen H and oxygen O in a 2:1 ratio." Since the human body is largely composed of water, and water contains a significant amount of oxygen by mass about 89% of water's mass is oxygen , water is the primary compound responsible for the high percentage of oxygen in the human body.