what is the dot between compounds?

[joonkimdds]

CuSO4 (dot) 5H2O has a dot between them and it looks like multiplication sign from math class.

When I took general chemistry, i saw + sign all the time so I am not familiar with dot between them.
If it's CuSO4 + 5H2O then I know that those two are mixed.
But what does the dot mean?


There was a problem in Kaplan book asking for the percentage of oxygen by mass in CuSO4 (dot) 5H2O but I didn't know what the dot was so i just assumed that it was + sign and solved it and got the correct answer.
Does this mean dot and + are the same thing?

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[andyjl]

it doesn't mean add, i think it just means the compound is hydrated by 5 water molecules

 

[Lonely Sol]

it doesn't mean add, i think it just means the compound is hydrated by 5 water molecules

not 5 water molecules, but 5 moles of water!

*correct me if I am wrong but thats what I always thought!

 

[Vapor1122]

not 5 water molecules, but 5 moles of water!

*correct me if I am wrong but thats what I always thought!

Same thing, really. It's a 5:1 ratio no matter how you slice it.