Transition elements
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I'm working out some chemistry results from a iron sulphate titration how I can tell if my iron sulphate in my iron tablets is anhydrous or hydrated ... what should I be looking for?
Ulex replies
This is about experiment 19.1c 'Analysis of iron tablets' in the Nuffield Chemistry students book. The idea of the second question after the iron sulphate experiment is to get you to find this out for yourself! I’ll give you a hint or two.
The details on the packet tell you how much iron sulphate there is supposed to be in a tablet – probably 200 mg or 0.200 g. You weighed two tablets at the start of the experiment, so you know how much each tablet weighs. Is this the same as the mass of iron sulphate quoted on the packet? Answer: no - that’s obvious. OK, next thing to do: work out the number of moles of iron sulphate in each tablet from your titration results and assume that it is hydrated when you work out the mass. Does your answer agree with the mass per tablet on the packet? If the answer is ‘yes’ then the iron sulphate must be hydrated in the tablets. If the answer is ‘no’ try working out the mass by assuming that it is anhydrous. Does this mass agree with the mass on the packet?
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updated: 22 October 2004
