A mass of 68.45 g of nickel (II) sulfate hydrate, NiSO4∙ nH2O, loses 28.40 g upon dehydration. What is the hydration number of this compound? (Find n.)

so here we go

atomic mass

239 + 1 = y + 134 + 3 combine like terms

240 = y + 137             subtract 137 from both terms

240 - 137 = y

103 = y

atomic number

94 = z +54 + 0

94 = z + 54               subtract 54 from both sides.

40 = z

answer

a). in this case, dh> 0 and sd> 0. if t becomes larger, the term "-tds" will become more negative. at some point, it is possible that -dts will be more negative than the dh is positive, and the reaction will become spontaneous. this is probably the correct answer, but you should look at all of the other possibilities and make sure of that.