Hydrated cobalt(II) sulfate loses water when heated to give anhydrous cobalt(II) sulfate. All thewater of crystallisation is lost to the atmosphere as steam.When 3.10 g of hydrated cobalt(II) sulfate, CoSO4•xH2O, is heated to constant mass the loss inmass is 1.39 g.What is the value of x, to the nearest whole number?1511D7C6B4A

To find the value of x, we need to determine the molar mass of water (H2O) and cobalt(II) sulfate (CoSO4), and then use the given information to calculate the number of moles of water in the hydrated cobalt(II) sulfate.

1. Calculate the molar mass of water (H2O): Hydrogen (H) has a molar mass of 1 g/mol and oxygen (O) has a molar mass of 16 g/mol. Since there are two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom in a molecule of water, the molar mass of water is (2*1) + 16 = 18 g/mol.

2. Calculate the molar mass of cobalt(II) sulfate (CoSO4): Cobalt (Co) has a molar mass of 58.93 g/mol, sulfur (S) has a molar mass of 32.07 g/mol, and oxygen (O) has a molar mass of 16 g/mol. Since there is one cobalt atom, one sulfur atom, and four oxygen atoms in a molecule of cobalt(II) sulfate, the molar mass of CoSO4 is 58.93 + 32.07 + (4*16) = 154.93 g/mol.

3. Calculate the mass of the anhydrous cobalt(II) sulfate: The mass of the hydrated cobalt(II) sulfate is given as 3.10 g, and the loss in mass when it is heated is 1.39 g. Therefore, the mass of the anhydrous cobalt(II) sulfate is 3.10 - 1.39 = 1.71 g.

4. Calculate the number of moles of water and cobalt(II) sulfate: The number of moles of a substance is calculated by dividing the mass of the substance by its molar mass. Therefore, the number of moles of water is 1.39 g / 18 g/mol = 0.077 mol, and the number of moles of cobalt(II) sulfate is 1.71 g / 154.93 g/mol = 0.011 mol.

5. Calculate the value of x: The value of x is the ratio of the number of moles of water to the number of moles of cobalt(II) sulfate. Therefore, x = 0.077 mol / 0.011 mol = 7.

So, to the nearest whole number, the value of x in the formula CoSO4•xH2O is 7.