Short Answer:
The 4 atoms, O, C, H and N are about 96% of our mass, but with calcium added in the group of 5 represents more than 97% of the body mass of the average person.
Accounting by Mass:
The mass of the human body is provided mostly by oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen. Together these elements account for about 96% of the mass of a human.
Add in about a kilogram of calcium in the bones and body fluids and you are up to 97.4%. All of this depends on the particular person since water, our major component, can differ by 10% from one individual to another.
That said, typically the breakdown goes like this.
Oxygen: 65% of the mass
Carbon: 18% of the mass
Hydrogen: 10% of the mass
Nitrogen: 3% of the mass
Calcium: 1.4 % of the mass
Phosphorus 1.1% of the mass
With phosphorus, one has accounted for 98.5% of the mass of the typical human and that will change by a couple of tenths from person to person.
Accounting by Numbers:
Numerically we have nearly twice as many hydrogen atoms in our bodies as compared to all other elements combined. Specifically, hydrogen counts as 63% of our atoms by number, give or take a bit, but being so light it barely gets to 10% of our mass. Oxygen atoms count as 24% and carbon atoms are a mere 12% of the populations. Together, our three basic organic building blocks account for 99% of all the atoms in the body.
Caveat:
As was said above, the water content of the human body weight varieties between 55 to 65 % from one person to the next and being the major component changes the numbers above a little for each individual.
Summary:
Almost 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of the six elements oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus.
Most of the last 1% is made up of five elements: potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium, but a tenth of a percent or so is made up of another dozen or so elements which include those recognized as essential to health such as iron, iodine and fluorine as well as beneficial trace elements like manganese, copper and zinc.
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen
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Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon.
The four elements that make up most of living matter are hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen.
CHNOPS - The acronym CHNOPS, which stands for carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, represents the six most important chemical elements whose covalent combinations make up most biological molecules on Earth.
Elements that are 'highly' reactive (as opposed to inert, such as a noble gas) are dangerous because they readily and easily create chemical reactions with other elements, potentially quickly altering a substance (including substances that make up a human body) and potentially explosively. They can cause burns, consume flesh, or explode if not safely handled.
Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen are the 4 elements that make up >95% of the human body.
Trace Elements Oxygen Carbon Hydrogen Nitrogen These four elements make up 96% of the human body.
The four elements that make up the greatest percentage of the human body by percentage of body mass are oxygen (65%), carbon (18.5%), hydrogen (9.5%), and nitrogen (3.2%) but there are many others in smaller amounts.
Hydrogen,oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon (in that order) make up over 95 percent of the body of most organisms.
water
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The four major elements which together make up 96% of our body mass are carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen. The ranking is based on the mass of a 70kg adult: Oxygen - 64.5% of body mass / 43kg out of 70kg Carbon - 18% / 16kg Hydrogen - 10% / 7kg Nitrogen - 3% / 1.8kg
The four major elements which together make up 96% of our body mass are carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen. The ranking is based on the mass of a 70kg adult: Oxygen - 64.5% of body mass / 43kg out of 70kg Carbon - 18% / 16kg Hydrogen - 10% / 7kg Nitrogen - 3% / 1.8kg
CHNOPS: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur in order of amount of these elements.
Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon.
CHNOPS: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur in order of amount of these elements.
Hydrogen makes up 10% of the human body, Oxygen makes up 65% of the human body, and Carbon makes up 18% of the human body. Hydrogen combines with the Oxygen to create water that is also inside of the human body. -Hope this answers your question.