Required Practical 1: Making Soluble Salts

1. Start with a fixed volume of dilute sulfric acid (limiting reactant)

2. Gently heat the acid until almost boiling but we don’t want it to boil

3. Use a spatula to add small amounts of copper oxide to the acid

4. Stir the solution with a glass rod. The copper oxide will react and seem to disappear. The solution will turn into a blue colour.

- Continue adding copper oxide if the solution continues to be clear blue

- Stop adding copper oxide if some powder remains after stirring

5. Use filtration to remove unreactive copper oxide

6. Place the solution in an evaporating basin. Heat gently over a beaker of boiling water

7. Heat until half the solution remains

8. Leave solution for 24 hours in a cool place

9. Scrape crystals onto a paper towel and gently pat them dry