how many moles of water are there in one mole of hydrated salt?
Divide the mass of your anhydrous (heated) salt sample by the molar mass of the anhydrous compound to get the number of moles of compound present. In our example, 16 grams / 160 grams per mole = 0.1 moles. Divide the mass of water lost when you heated the salt by the molar mass of water, roughly 18 grams per mole.