DUBOIS – At DuBois Central Catholic High School, Dr. Joseph Noroski demonstrates the proper technique for heating a crucible as three juniors look on during a recent dehydration lab.
Students learned that heating hydrated salts (that don’t decompose upon heating) drives off water molecules.
Noroski adds, “Analysis of the mass loss allows for determination of the number of water molecules present per formula unit of the anhydrous salt, i.e., the mole ratio between the two.”
