Description
In this cool experiment, we will convert a bright blue copper sulfate to a bright green copper carbonate using a simple household ingredient
Difficulty
Very easy, but handle the compounds with caution. Always use gloves and goggles.
Materials:
1. Copper Sulfate crystals : 10 grams
2. Baking Soda: 7 grams
3. Distilled Water : 30 ml
4. Erlenmeyer Flask for the experiment
5. Coffee filter
Procedure:
Measure and add 10 grams of copper sulfate crystals in the Erlenmeyer flask
Add water and stir to dissolve. This will take close to 15 minute
Add baking soda slowly to the flask and stir
The reaction will be immediate with lots of foam from the Carbon Dioxide and the green Copper Carbonate can be seen precipitating
The reaction will complete in around 20 minutes and can be seen by the Copper Carbonate settling down in the bottom
Once the reaction is complete, the copper carbonate can be extracted using a coffee filter and kept for future experiments
Here is a video of the experiment
How It Works:
Copper Sulfate reacts with baking soda to produce Copper Carbonate, Sodium Sulfate and Carbon dioxide per the equation below
CuSO4 + 2NaHCO3 → CuCO3 + Na2SO4 + CO2 + H2O
Copper Carbonate is insoluble in water, while the Sodium Sulfate is soluble and Carbon Dioxide is dissipated as gas. Hence the Copper Carbonate settles down and can be extracted. Copper Carbonate is bright green in color
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