Chemistry Students: Remember the Water of Crystallization
[caption id="attachment_24966" align="alignright" width="480"] Don't forget the water.[/caption] Chemicals are, for the most part, categorized into inorganic compounds and organic compounds. The expression "water of crystallization" is rarely applied to organic compounds, since most of them are not water soluble, and if they are, few even of those form crystals with water. What IS Water of Crystallization? A high percentage of water-soluble inorganic salts form crystals that include water in their crystal lattice. An example of a salt, with and without water of crystallization is cupric sulfate.1 Such salts, deprived of water content, are termed anhydrous. In our example, we might speak of copper sulfate anhydrous.2 Quantity of Water [caption id="attachment_24967" align="alignright" width="380"] Fine crystals of copper sulfate pentahydrate.[/caption] Hydrated copper sulfate includes 5 molecules of water in its crystalline…