Determine Formula Hydrate Simulation Lab Sheet PDF

Determination of the formula of a hydrate
Reference: Chapter 1, Section 1.2, page 23. Name: _____________

Please note
• A full risk assessment should be carried out prior to commencing this experiment.
• Personal safety equipment should be worn.
• Chemicals should be disposed of safely and with due regard to any environmental considerations.
Aim
To determine the mole ratio of water to copper sulfate in the hydrate CuSO4.5H2O.
Introduction
Does a compound with a formula of X2.5Y3.7 exist? Such a formula is impossible. Atoms react with each other in a
whole ratio, not as fractions. The combining ratio of atoms in compounds will always be a ratio of small whole
numbers. In the same way hydrated compounds combine with water in whole number ratios.
Many compounds appear to be dry, but when they are heated, large amounts of water are released. Many
crystals occur commonly in hydrated form, which means that they contain water molecules within the crystal
structure in definite proportions. This water is called water of crystallization and is released when heated. The
solid with all water removed is called anhydrate.
hydrate + heat ® anhydrate + water
The amount of water present in a hydrate is in a whole number ratio to the moles of anhydrate. MgSO4·7H2O
indicates that 7 moles of water are combined with 1 mol of MgSO4 in the crystalline form. The formula for these
crystals shows the number of water molecules present per formula unit of crystal using a dot before the water.
In this experiment we will heat hydrated copper sulfate crystals to drive off all the water of crystallization. We will
assume that the loss in mass is equal to the mass of water in the crystals, and that the final mass will be the mass
of the anhydrous crystals.
NOTE FOR ONLINE LEARNING:

We will use a simulation for this lab activity. Link: http://introchem.chem.okstate.edu/DCICLA/Empirical.html
This simulation requires Flash.
Hints: The simulation will not record an anhydrous mass until you have heated your sample for a long enough
time. Typically in lab it is not so easy. You would take the mass of the crucible and the sample over and over
again and continue heating until you reach a constant mass. It is important to not heat too much or too hot
because the compound can react with air (in some combination type of reactions) or start to decompose. Both
not heating to a constant mass and the side-reactions can affect your results.
© Pearson Education Ltd 2014. For more information about the Pearson Baccalaureate series please visit
www.pearsonbacconline.com
Equipment list
Chemicals / materials
CuSO4.5H2O or another suitable hydrated crystal. We will consider this an unknown hydrate of copper sulfate,
CuSO4.xH2O, so you can determine x and compare to the true value.
Apparatus (per group of students)

Crucible + lid
Tongs
Pipe-clay triangle / gauze
Stand / tripod
Bunsen burner
Balance accurate to at least two decimal places
Pre-lab questions
1 Find out and write down the formulas of two other hydrated crystals.
2 Suggest two ways in which these crystals may change on heating.
Method (For your information only)

1 Record the mass of a clean, dry crucible with lid.
2 Put approximately 2 g of the crystal hydrate in the crucible, and weigh the crucible, lid, and contents.
3 Heat the crucible with moderate heat for about 5-10 minutes. Look for the color to change from blue to
white. Anhydrous copper sulfate is white, while hydrated copper sulfate is blue.
4 After cooling, weigh the crucible and contents.
5 ‘Heat to constant mass’ by repeating steps 3 and 4 until you get consistent readings.
Results
Mass / g ± 0.0001 Observations
Mass of CuSO4.xH2O before

heating
Mass of CuSO4 (anhydrous)

after heating
Analysis
Water, H2O Anhydrous copper sulfate, CuSO4
Mass / g ± 0.0002
M / g mol–1
Moles / mol
Work out the simplest ratio of moles CuSO4 : moles H2O and so deduce the formula of hydrated copper sulfate.
(Round to a whole number for this part)
Conclusion and evaluation

• The theoretical result for the formula of the crystals is CuSO4.5H2O. Calculate the % error in your result. Use
your actual result, not the rounded whole number to find the percent error.
• Consider doing the activity in a lab setting. What assumptions would you be making in this calculation?
Itemize systematic errors and suggest modifications to the experiment to reduce these.
For consideration
1 Other than water loss from the crystals, what else might be causing the change in mass on heating?
2 Do you know that the crystals were in fact CuSO4? How could you find out?
3 Many metal nitrates form crystals with relatively large proportions of water of crystallization. These
crystals have high melting points due to their ionic lattice structure, yet when they are heated they
sometimes appear to melt easily. Can you explain this?
4 Explain how copper sulfate crystals can be used to test for water.

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Determination of the formula of a hydrate

Reference: Chapter 1, Section 1.2, page 23. Name: _____________

NOTE FOR ONLINE LEARNING:

Apparatus (per group of students)

2 Suggest two ways in which these crystals may change on heating.

Method (For your information only)

Mass of CuSO4.xH2O before

Mass of CuSO4 (anhydrous)

Conclusion and evaluation

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