Question

Copper sulfate is a blue solid that is used as an algicide. Solutions of copper sulfate that come in contact with zinc metal such as the surface of galvanized (zinc-plated) steel- undergo the following reaction that forms copper metal on the zinc surface:

CuSO4(aq)+Zn(s) ---> Cu(s)+ZnSO4(aq)

How many grams of zinc could 454g of copper sulfate react with?

Answer 1

The balanced equation shows mole for mole of zinc reacting with coppersulfate, and one gets a mole of copper from the reaction. So convert 454g of copper sulfate to moles. The main difficulty for me is the description of the problem: Copper sulfate is a blue solid....Hmmm. This has to be copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate, not CuSO4 (a white powder).

So I wonder what the 454 grams is actually refering to. Perhaps it will be a mystery.