Question

some of the hydrated salt spatter out the crucible because of a too rapid heating process. will the reported percent water in the hydrated salt be reported too high, too low, or unaffected? explain.

Answer 1

The calculated mass (or moles) of water lost by the hydrate will be too large because the mass of the solid that was lost will be assumed to be water when it actually included some salt as well.

Hydrates are solid ionic compounds that contain water chemically bound in the crystal. They are crystalline compounds that have a specific number of water molecules trapped within the crystal lattice.

Salts are an example of such compounds. A salt is an ionic compound that forms as a product of a reaction between an acid and a base. An example of a salt is sodium chloride, NaCl, which forms from the reaction of sodium hydroxide, a strong base, with hydrochloric acid, a strong acid.

Water molecules can become incorporated within the crystal lattice of the salt. These water molecules associated with the salt are known as waters of hydration. The waters of hydration can be driven off as water vapor with heating, leaving the salt. The remaining salt is referred to as anhydrous (without water). The salt and water are combined in definite molar proportions in a hydrate. The hydrate formula indicates the mole ratio of water to salt. A dot is used between the formula of the salt and the formula of water. An example of a hydrate formula is CuSO4