Final answer:
To find the formula of a hydrate, calculate the molar ratio of CuSO4 to H2O, which for the provided masses is approximately 8:1. Thus, the hydrate formula is CuSO4·8H2O, known as copper(II) sulfate octahydrate.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the formula of a hydrate with given amounts of CuSO4 and H2O, we first need to calculate the molar ratio of the two substances. We do this by finding the number of moles of each substance and dividing them to get their ratio. The molar mass of CuSO4 is 159.61 g/mol, and the molar mass of H2O is 18.02 g/mol. Therefore:
- The number of moles of CuSO4 is 5.99 g ÷ 159.61 g/mol = 0.0375 mol.
- The number of moles of H2O is 5.4 g ÷ 18.02 g/mol = 0.2997 mol.
Now we calculate the simplest ratio of moles of H2O to moles of CuSO4, which is 0.2997 mol H2O ÷ 0.0375 mol CuSO4 ≈ 8. Therefore, the compound is copper(II) sulfate octahydrate, and the chemical formula for this hydrate is CuSO4·8H2O.