Answer to Question #148454 in General Chemistry for Chen

Question

Calcium sulfate is produced by reacting copper with sulfuric acid. If 40 kg of sulfuric acid were used, what is the weight of copper, in grams, required for the reaction?

Answer 1

[By calcium sulfate I believe is meant copper sulfate?]

Cu + 2H₂SO₄ —> CuSO₄ + SO₂ + 2H₂O

Mass of sulfuric acid = 40kg = 40000g

Molar mass of sulfuric acid = 196g/mol

∴ No of moles of sulfuric acid = 204mol/dm³

If 2 mole of H₂SO₄ reacts with 1 mole of Cu, it means 204 moles of H₂SO₄ will react with 102 moles of Cu.

Mass of Cu therefore required = No of moles of Cu (102) * Molar mass of Cu (63.5) = 6477g = 6.477kg