Practical+-+Making+Copper+Sulphate

making copper sulphate

Practical - Making Copper Sulphate
Copper sulphate is an example of a salt which is formed when an insoluble base reacts with an acid. This is a set of instructions for preparing copper sulphate (CuSO4) from sulphuric acid and copper oxide.


 * Apparatus:**
 * Copper (II) Oxide powder
 * 1M Sulphuric acid
 * 50cm3 measuring cylinder
 * Small (100ml) beaker
 * Spatula
 * Filter funnel
 * Filter paper
 * Small (100ml) conical flask
 * Bunsen Burner
 * Gauze mat
 * Tripod
 * Safety mat
 * Evaporating basin
 * Tongs


 * Method:**
 * 1) Add small amounts of solid copper oxide powder to 25 cm3 of dilute sulphuric acid, and stir.
 * 2) Keep adding powder slowly until some unreacted copper oxide remains at the bottom.
 * 3) Filter the solution to remove the unreacted copper oxide and transfer the filtrate into an evaporating basin.
 * 4) Heat the contents of the evaporating basin gently until about a third of the water has evaporated.
 * 5) Leave the solution to cool and then examine the crystals which are formed.

> a. Why was copper oxide added until some was left on the bottom of the beaker? > b. Why is it better to have copper oxide powder left in the beaker after the reaction, rather than having dilute sulphuric acid left behind? > c. Why was it necessary to filter the mixture before evaporating it? > d. Write word and symbol equations for the reaction that took place.
 * Report:**
 * 1) __Title:__ Making Copper Sulphate
 * 2) __Method:__ Draw and label diagrams to show the equipment in use (2d drawing, use a rule)
 * 3) __Safety instructions:__ bullet point notes to reflect what you need to do to stay safe
 * 4) __Considering your results:__