what is greater for ammonium chloride the lattice energy or the hydration energy
The lattice energy is more. this is evident that the solvation of solid ammonium chloride is an endothermic process (dissolving it in water reduces the water temperature).
this can only mean that the hydration energy is not high enough to offset the energy needed to dissociate the lattice. therefore the solvation of the solid requires extra energy from the surroundings.
this is because the ammonium ion is small enough to have good ionic distance with chloride ion in a lattice (strong bonds), but large enough so that when surrounded by water molecules during hydration, the energy release is small.