Question

If you have 1.2121 grams of CuCl2*2H2O, find the masses and theoretical masses of each element.

Answer 1

First, you need to find the molar mass of this hydrate by adding up the molar masses of each elements, and making sure to multiply by constants when you have to.

Answer 2

The thing is I have what I needed, and the molar mass is 170.48; however, do I need to convert from grams to moles and then to grams again to get the theoretical mass?

Answer 3

Sweet, I believe you do need to convert this hydrate to moles. Apply stoichiometry to each element to figure out how many moles of each element are present. Multiply by the molar mass. Not sure what the difference is between theoretical mass and just mass though.

Answer 4

The theoretical mass, I believe, is the predicted mass you think you are going to get, based on calculations, after the reaction. Do you need the chemical reaction formula for reference?

Answer 5

What do we need the chemical reaction for? I thought we're just finding the masses of the elements of the hydrate.

Answer 6

This equation was formed based on a lab that I did in my CHM 151 class. This was done using water, copper chloride, and an aluminum wire.

Answer 7

Oh, I see what you're saying. For the original problem, we'll be finding the experimental masses. For the theoretical masses, you do have to use the chemical reaction formula. You also need to know at least the amount of moles of one reactant to do the stoichiometry.

Answer 8

Unfortunately, I don't have much time to stick around. But you're basically doing what my first post said on both your experimental data and the theoretical amount of hydrate you would obtain.

Answer 9

Ok thanks for the help.