Making salt

Aim; To produce copper sulfate by reacting copper oxide with an acid.


Method: 

1. Add 2oml of sulfuric acid to 100 ml beaker. Heat the acid until it reaches 70 c. Turn off your bunsen burner.


2. Once heated use a spatula to add pea-sized portions of copper oxide to the beaker stir the mixture for 30 seconds.

3. Repeat step 2 until no more will dissolve. Allow the beaker to cool enough to hold at the top. the contents should still be hot you may need your teacher to complete this step.

4. Fold the filter paper and place it in the funnel. Place the filter funnel into the second beaker.

5. Make sure the beaker is cool enough to hold at the top. The contents should still be hot. You may need your teacher to complete this step.

6. Gently swirl the contents of the beaker to mix and then our into the filter paper in the funnel. Allow to filter through.

7. Rince the beaker you used to heat the mixture previously and place it back on top of your tripod with 50-60 ml of water.

8. Place the evaporating basin on top of the beaker and carefully pour some of the solutions from the beaker into the evaporating basin.

9. Gently heat the beaker until the solution in the evaporating basin has reduced by half.

10. Leave the evaporating basin to cool. Once cool, move the evaporating basin to a warm place where it will not be disturbed ( i.e a window sill) and observe over the next few days. Blue copper sulfate crystals should form.