How Much Sodium in Sodium Chloride?

• The FDA recommends a person consume less than 2.4 g (2400 mg) of sodium per day.
• The mass of sodium that we eat is not the same as the mass of sodium chloride that we eat.
• How many grams of sodium chloride can we consume and still stay below the FDA recommendation for sodium?
• The chemical composition of sodium chloride is given in its formula, NaCl.
• There is one sodium ion to every chloride ion.
• Since the masses of sodium and chlorine are different, the relationship between the mass of sodium and the mass of sodium chloride is not clear from the chemical formula alone.
• We need to calculate the amount of a constituent element in a given amount of a compound.