Description
Epsom salts, a strong laxative used in veterinary medicine, is a hydrate, which means that a certain number of water molecules are included in the solid structure. The formula for Epsom salts can be written as MgSO4 · x H2O, where x indicates the number of moles of H2O per mole of MgSO4. When 5.469 g of this hydrate is heated to 250°C, all the water of hydration is lost, leaving 2.671 g of MgSO4. What is the value of x?
Give the correct number of significant digits and tell why u used that many!
Explanation & Answer
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MgSO4.xH2O = 24+32+64+x(2+16) = 120+18x
MgSO4 = 24+32+64 = 120
xH2O = 18X
120+18x hydrate results in 120 gms of MgSO4.
Hence, [120/(120+18x)]*5.469 = 2.671
Solving it, we get x = 6.9837
So we can say that x =7.
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