Question

Explain with equations what happens when Zinc metal is added to a salt solution of (i)Copper Sulphate and, (ii) Magnesium Sulphate. ​

Answer 1

Answer:

When a strip of zinc metal is placed into a blue solution of copper(II) sulfate, a reaction immediately begins as the zinc strip begins to darken. If left in the solution for a longer period of time, the zinc will gradually decay due to oxidation to zinc ions. At the same time, the copper(II) ions from the solution are reduced to copper metal, which causes the blue copper(II) sulfate solution to become colorless.

The process that occurs in this redox reaction is shown below as two separate half-reactions, which can then be combined into the full redox reaction.