KOH(aq) + CuSO4(aq) = What type of reaction? synthesis, decomposition, single displacement, or double displacement
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The reaction between potassium hydroxide (KOH) and copper(II) sulfate (CuSO₄) is a double displacement reaction.
Correct Answer:
Double Displacement Reaction
Explanation:
A double displacement reaction, also known as a metathesis reaction, occurs when parts of two ionic compounds are exchanged to form two new compounds. This typically happens in aqueous solutions, and one of the products is often a precipitate, a gas, or a weak electrolyte such as water.
In this case, when KOH (aq) and CuSO₄ (aq) are mixed, the positive ions (K⁺ and Cu²⁺) and the negative ions (OH⁻ and SO₄²⁻) rearrange. Potassium (K⁺) pairs with sulfate (SO₄²⁻) to form potassium sulfate (K₂SO₄), and copper (Cu²⁺) pairs with hydroxide (OH⁻) to form copper(II) hydroxide (Cu(OH)₂), which is an insoluble solid and precipitates out of the solution.
The balanced chemical equation for the reaction is:
2 KOH (aq) + CuSO₄ (aq) → Cu(OH)₂ (s) + K₂SO₄ (aq)
Here, Cu(OH)₂ is the precipitate, and K₂SO₄ remains in solution.
This reaction is not a synthesis reaction (which involves two or more reactants forming a single product), nor is it decomposition (which breaks down a single compound into simpler substances), nor single displacement (where one element replaces another in a compound). Instead, it is clearly a double displacement reaction, because two compounds exchange their ions to form two new compounds.
This type of reaction is common in chemistry labs and industrial processes and is often used to identify the presence of certain ions based on the formation of precipitates.
