Question

Question #7f8c9

Answer 1

% water = 53.75%

Explanation:

The Epsom salt is a hydrate. This is a salt compound that acts like a sponge. The hydrated version is like a sponge which has absorbed a bunch of water. The anhydrate version of the salt is analogous to a completely dry sponge.

Magnesium sulfate can absorb water at a ratio of 7 moles of water to every 1 mole of `MgSO_4`.

Here's how to do the calculation of the percent water.

mass of water = mass of hydrate - mass of anhydrate
3.304g water = 6.147g Hydrate - 2.843g Anhydrate

% water = `"mass water"/"mass hydrate"`x100

% water = `"3.304g"/"6.147g"`x100

% water = 53.75% (answer should be rounded to 4 sig figs)

You might also find these videos helpful for these types of calculations.

Hope this helps!