Question

The calculated ratio of moles water to moles anhydrous salt in CuSO4·xH2O is determined to be...

The calculated ratio of moles water to moles anhydrous salt in CuSO4·xH2O is determined to be 5.12 to 1 in an experiment. Explain why should this number be rounded off to give a hydrate formula of CuSO4 ·5H2O and not written as CuSO4·5.12H2O.

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Answer #1

In empirical formula of a compound, atoms are present in simple whole number ratios. So in calculation of empirical formula of a compound or number of moles of water of crystallisation in 1 mole of a hydrated salt, the number of atoms/moles of water of crystallisation is never kept as a decimal and needs to be rounded off to the nearest whole number. That is why though the calculated ratio of moles of water to moles of anhydrous salt is 5.12 to 1, it is rounded off to 5 to 1. Also this gives the formula CuSO4.5H2O which is in agreement with the known formula of the hydrated copper sulphate. The difference between the experimentally calculated ratio and the theoretical ratio (5:1) could be due to errors in carrying out the experiment.

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