Question

Write an activity to show that iron displaces copper from copper sulphate. 

(OR) 

Write an activity about how you conduct an experiment to show that more reactive metals replace less reactive metals from their compounds. 

(OR) 

Why is an iron nail kept in a solution brownish? Explain the activity.

Answer 1

1. Take two iron nails and clean them by rubbing with sand paper. 

2. Take two test tubes and mark them as A and B.

3. Take about 10 ml of copper sulphate solution in each test tube. 

4. Dip one iron nail in copper sulphate solution of test tube A. 

5. Keep the test tube with iron nail undisturbed for 20 minutes. 

6. Keep the other iron nail and test tube aside.  

7. Compare the colours of the solutions in the test tubes. 

8. Now take out the iron nail from copper sulphate solution. 

9. Keep the iron nail and test tubes A and B side by side. 

10. Compare with the other iron nail that has been kept aside. 

11. We will observe that the iron nail dipped in copper sulphate solution becomes brownish.

12. Blue colour of copper sulphate solution in test tube ‘A’ fades. 

13. Iron is more reactive than copper, so it displaces copper from copper sulphate. 

14. This is one of the examples for displacement reaction. 

15. Equation : Fe_(s) + CuSO_4(aq) → FeSO_4(aq) + Cu_(s)