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Exercises · 9.31

Q.What is the difference between the terms 'hydrolysis' and 'hydration' ?

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Hydrolysis: a chemical reaction in which a compound reacts with water and is thereby decomposed/split into other substances, with water itself also being "split" (its H and OH portions distributed between the products). For example:

PCl3(l)+3H2O(l)→H3PO3(aq)+3HCl(aq)PCl_3(l) + 3H_2O(l) \rightarrow H_3PO_3(aq) + 3HCl(aq)

Here PCl3 is broken down entirely into new compounds by its reaction with water.

Hydration: the physical/chemical association of water molecules with an ion or a molecule, without breaking apart either the solute or the water molecules involved. The water molecules simply attach themselves (often via ion–dipole attraction or coordinate bonding) to form a hydrate or hydrated ion. For example:

CuSO4(s)+5H2O(l)→CuSO4⋅5H2O(s)CuSO_4(s) + 5H_2O(l) \rightarrow CuSO_4 \cdot 5H_2O(s)

or the hydration of a metal ion in solution, e.g., Mg2+(aq)Mg^{2+}(aq) surrounded by water molecules — the CuSO4 and the water molecules both remain intact, merely combined. …

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