Question

What are the products of Copper sulfate \[ + \] sodium hydroxide?

Answer 1

Hint :The given reaction is a double displacement reaction as well as a precipitation reaction. Double displacement reactions are those reactions in which two compounds react by an exchange of ions to form two new compounds. Precipitation reactions are those reactions in which a precipitate is formed in a solution or inside another solid during a chemical reaction.

Complete Step By Step Answer:
The reaction of copper sulphate and sodium hydroxide is a double displacement reaction as well as a precipitation reaction. When sodium sulfate, which is a strong base, reacts with copper sulfate, which is a salt, copper hydroxide is produced in a blue precipitate form along with the ions of sodium sulfate.
Chemical equation of copper sulphate reacting with sodium hydroxide:
 \[CuS{O_4} + 2NaOH \to Cu{(OH)_2} + N{a_2}S{O_4}\]
Here, \[CuS{O_4}\] is a blue solution and \[NaOH\] is a colourless solution. Also, \[Cu{(OH)_2}\] is a blue precipitate while \[N{a_2}S{O_4}\] is again a colourless solution.

Additional Information:
Copper sulfate is used as a fungicide, algaecide, root killer, and herbicide in agriculture. It is also used as a drying agent in the anhydrous form, as an additive for fertilizers and foods.
Copper hydroxide is used widely in the aquarium industry for its ability to destroy external parasites in fish, including flukes, marine ich, brook and marine velvet, without killing the fish. It has also been combined with latex paint, making a product designed to control root growth in potted plants.

Note :
The reaction of copper sulfate and sodium hydroxide is an exothermic reaction and the reaction proceeds without external heat. Do not be careless while using concentrated \[CuS{O_4}\] and \[NaOH\] for an experiment in the lab.