Experiment 4: Determination of the Formula of a HydrateEstrada,

Jonas Emmanuel; Rodriguez, Cy

Chemistry 14.1, HAB 3, Ms. Jenica Marie Madridejos
January 22, 2014
ABSTRACT
A hydrate is a compound that is formed from the combination of a definite amount of water with a specific
quantity of salt. Salt, however, could combine with water in different amounts and thus could form different
hydrates. The experiment aims to determine the formula of a hydrate of copper(II) sulfate which could be
evaluated from the ratio of the number of moles of water to the number of moles of salt left after a simple
decomposition reaction. The experiment involved the heating of 1 g of copper(II) sulfate crystals until
decomposed into gray powder. The gray powder weighed0.66 g and the loss of weight was 0.36 g which
was also the weight of water. The formula weight of water is approximately18 g/mole and the formula
weight of copper(II) sulfate is approximately 160 g/mole. Based on this, the moles of copper(II)sulfate was
found to be approximately 0.004 moles and the moles of water was found to be approximately 0.02
molesand the simplest ratio of the number of moles of water to the number of moles of Copper(II) sulfate
is 5:1. Therefore, the formula of the hydrate was CuSO 4(5H2O) which is also known as copper(II) sulphate
pentahydrate.
KEYWORDS: hydrate, anhydrous, waters of hydration, copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate, moles, formula
weight, percent o fhydration
INTRODUCTION
A hydrate salt is composed of anions and cations which are surrounded by and weakly bonded water
molecules, which are integral parts of their crystalline structure. Each hydrate salt has a fixed number of
water molecules associated with it, called waters of hydration or waters of crystallization. When a salt
holds waters of hydration, we call it a hydrated salt or a hydrate (from hydor, the Greek word for water).
Salt which does not contain water is called anhydrous. The anhydrous salt has different colour and
crystalline structure from the hydrate.
The water is present as individual water molecules and usually no chemical bonds are involved in holding
the ions of the compound and the water molecules together. The forces of attraction are electrostatic
forces resulting from the charged nature of the anhydrous ionic compound and the polar water molecules.
The bond is so weak that simply heating the hydrated salt to liberate the water molecules as vapor can
normally break it.
Particle size and space limitations dictate the number of water molecules an ionic compound will
accommodate and well as the conditions under which the hydrate is formed. Many ionic compounds form
multiple hydrates.
The number of water molecules bound per metal ion is often characteristic of that particular metal ion.
The bonds of the hydrate salt with water molecules may easily by separated by means of a
decomposition reaction.
Formulas for hydrates are written using a dot convention: a dot is used to separate the formula of the salt
from the formula of the water of hydration. A numerical coefficient gives the molar amount of water
included in the hydrate. Hydrates are named using prefixes for the word hydrate (at right). For example
CuSO45H2O is copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate. One key point: the dot is not a multiplication sign. When
calculating the molar mass you add the molar mass of water (multiplied by the coefficient).

Hydrates are classified as hygroscopic, deliquescent, and efflorescent. The type of hydrate most suitable
for a quantitative hydrate formula determination is the hygroscopic hydrate, which absorbs a definite
number of water molecules. The useful absorption qualities associated with this class of hydrates makes
it extremely useful as a drying agent. The compound is heated to drive off the water and then used to
keep other materials dry by absorbing water before the other material. They are sometimes packed with
food, film, or shoes to prevent moisture damage.
The deliquescent compounds, such as calcium chloride and sodium hydroxide, absorb water until it
dissolves forming a concentrated solution. The efflorescent hydrate, such as sodium sulfate decahydrate
(Na2SO4 10 H2O), spontaneously loses some or all of its water of hydration when exposed to dry
atmosphere.
Many hydrates can be transformed to the anhydrous compound when heated strongly. The hydrate in
focus of this experiment is copper(II) sulfate(later known to be copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate, which
contains 5 moles of water per 1 mole of copper(II)sulfate written as CuSO4 5 H2O). It is used
as acatalytic precursor, fungicide, and as a source of copper in chemical manufacturing processes. The
experiment aims to calculate the number of moles of the components in the compound and to determine
the formula of the hydrate. The reaction involved is:
CuSO4 5 H2O CuSO4 + 5 H2O
blue
gray
Or generally:
hydrated salt

anhydrous salt + water vapor

Copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate can be converted into anhydrous copper sulphate when heated. This
change can be followed visually. The blue crystalline copper sulfate pentahydrate is converted when
heated to a white, powdery, anhydrous salt.
As the water is lost there is a color change, whichis characteristic of the particular anhydrous compound.
Since heat must be added to the hydrate to drive off the water this is an endothermic change.
It is also possible to reverse the above process(though not shown in our experiment), as shown in the
equation below:
CuSO4 + 5 H2O CuSO45 H2O
gray
blue
If water is added to the white anhydrous copper sulfate, a blue color is obtained indicating that the blue
pentahydrate is regenerated. The property of reversibility can be used to distinguish true hydrates from
other compounds that produce water when heated.
EXPERIMENTAL
A test tube with a cork stopper was placed in a100 mL beaker and weighed. Approximately 1 g of
Copper(II) sulfate crystals were placed in the test tube and then stoppered again using a cork stopper and
was placed in the beaker and was weighed again.

The copper(II) sulfate crystals were heated over a blue flame from an alcohol lamp until the crystals
disintegrated into a gray powder until all of the water is driven off. The process lasted from five to ten
minutes.
After heating, the upper portion of the test tube was heated so as to completely evaporate the moisture
and was again stoppered using the cork and cooled to room temperature. After cooling, the test tube was
again placed on the 100 mL beaker and was weighed again.
The loss of mass represents the mass of water in the original sample.
To find the formula of the original hydrate, we determined from the succeeding data the ratio of the
number moles of water to the number of moles of copper(II) sulfate. Form this we calculated the moles of
anhydrous compound in the original sample.
RESULT
Gray powder that is less in weight was obtainedafter the heating and cooling process. The image
belowshows the solid obtained.

Figure 1: CuSO4 before heating and after cooling

Table 1: Experimental data collected

Calculations

W residue =W after heatingW beaker +test tube+stopper

= 67.39 g - 66.73 g= 0.66 g (CuSO4)

W lost uponheatin g =W before heatingW after heating

= 67.75 g - 67.39 g
= 0.36 g (H2O)