Question

if the hydrated water molecules are not completely removed from the salt during the heating process, will the reported salt-to-water mole ratio be high or low?

Answer 1

Let's say you have a salt AB*5H2O
When the salt is heated, only 4 moles of water per mole salt are lost (instead of 5).
So the presumed formula of the salt will be AB*4H2O, and the salt-to-water mole ratio will be higher (1 to 4 instead of 1 to 5)
@tasfiakamal94