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Making Solutions from Hydrated Compounds

This protocol was adapted from "Making Solutions," Chapter 4, in Lab Math by Dany Spencer Adams. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 2003.

INTRODUCTION

Solution making typically involves dissolving dry chemicals in water or other specified solvent. The amount of chemical to be added to a solvent depends on the final concentration or molarity (M) needed for the finished solution and the total amount in liters (L) of solution required. However, some chemicals come with water molecules attached. The molecular weight (MW) of such compounds, listed as formula weight (FW) on the bottle, includes the mass of the water. Whenever you would use the MW of an unhydrated compound in calculations, use instead the MW of the hydrated compound. If a recipe tells how many grams to use of the unhydrated compound, determine the target concentration and then calculate the grams to use of hydrated compound. When using a hydrated compound, the attached water molecules contribute water to the solution, potentially diluting the final concentration (if the solvent is water). Therefore, you must account for the contribution of water from the hydrated compound when determining the volume of solvent (water) to add. This article describes the calculations involved in making solutions from hydrated compounds.