Thread: a few questions pls :p....

i really love chemistry but unfortunate for me i dont have the best teacher.... any questions i ask she tells me to go do research on the net & in the library. & the thing is there is too much info sumtimes.....i just wanted to ask a few questions pls


is this reaction a Redox reaction or a Substitut reaction
Copper Sulphate (aq) + Water (aq) + Zinc (s) ---> Zinc Sulphate (aq) + Copper (s) + Hydrogen (g)

are these properly balanced because my teacher told me there is a special way to balance redox reaction but wont teach me

Cu (s) + 4HNO3 (aq) ----> Cu(NO3)2 (aq) + 2NO2 (g) + 2H2O (l)
Copper (s) + Nitric Acid (aq) ----> Copper Nitrate (aq) + Nitrogen Dioxide (g) + water (l)


Cu2SO4 + 4H2O (l) + Zn (s) ---> ZnSO4 (aq) + Cu (s) + 4H2 (g)
Copper Sulphate (aq) + Water (aq) + Zinc (s) ---> Zinc Sulphate (aq) + Copper (s) + Hydrogen (g)

Yes the first reaction is a redox reaction but i don't think water and hydrogen need to be included

Coppper Sulphate + Zinc -----> Zinc Sulphate + Copper
the aqeuous conditions of the copper sulphate kind of indicates water is present.

This is redox because
Cu²⁺ (aq) ----> Cu(s) (reduction)

Zn(s) ------> Zn²⁺ (oxidation)

Ok now for the balancing part of your equations.

The first reaction is wrong because it is not a redox reaction
General Rule
Metal + acid ----> Salt + Hydrogen
Also in the reaction the Nitrate ion is mearly a spectator ion and therefore doesn't have to be included in the reaction

Cu(s) + 2H⁺ (aq) -----------> Cu²⁺(aq) + H₂

In the second reaction. This is redox and i have written the equation above in terms of name species so the overall reaction (nitrate spectator ion again)

Cu²⁺(aq) + Zn(s) ---------> Cu(s) + Zn²⁺ (aq)

p.s. glad to have another chemistry lover on the forum any questions post here and i will be happy to help

yep. OG is right...an additional remark on q1: it's also known as a displacement reaction. in that a more reactive metal displaces the less reactive metal in a solution of ions. u'll prob see reddish copper residue at the bottom of the test tube/beaker.

:? are you sure???? because i asked my teacher & she said that the first one was a redox reaction & i even found a video saying it is a redox process

isnt it a redox reaction when a metal dissolves into a liquid, and in this case its copper breaking down into Cu+2 .....

what we did for the first equation was add copper to nitric acid & my teacher said i had to include those things into the equation aswell ..........this is so frustrating....i've spent like 30 hours doing this assigntment & this is all due day after tomo ...............



sry for my noobishness....

don't be sorry for asking questions even if you become a great chemist you will still be asking questions..that's were research comes in.

I think what ocean wave meant is that the reaction is both displacement and redox, however i think if you're teacher called it redox then go with that.

I also need to correct a previous statement of mine.
Cu + HNO₃
Under normal circumstances copper doesn't react with dilute acids however in this case the reaction isn't a simple metal + acid reaction it is actually a redox reaction.

Nitric acid is a strong oxidising agent
This does indeed liberate nitrogen dioxide so your equation is correct.

snt it a redox reaction when a metal dissolves into a liquid, and in this case its copper breaking down into Cu+2 .....

Redox is oxidation and reduction taking place at the same time

thanks guys you helped me quite a bit..... even if i think i had a heart attack a while ago .....

ok another quick question just for my own knowledge.
this is the experiment we did

Code:

http://web.lemoyne.edu/~giunta/chm151L/copper.html#reactions

is there any reason that we should use copper and not another element?

If you are interested in this side of chemistry do some research into
Ligands and look at the metal-aqua ion complexes.
Also you could look at standard electrode potentials which show you why certain redox reactions occur when others won't

yep. i was referring to the fact that they could also be called displacement reactions (tho they are a rather crude term actually). but yea. sry if i caused the minor heart attack

WOOOT!!!!!! i got an A!!!!


COOKIES FOR EVRYONEEEEE!!!!!!



i wanna know if anybody wants to ook at my asignment and give me a lil critique....cause i no likey my science teacher.....

i'll gladly take a look at it for you emu, i always like to look at scientific reports (it's like art to me) and i do have some experience in them