To make copper salt crystals, you'll react copper oxide with sulfuric acid, then evaporate the water to leave behind the crystals.
Steps to Create Copper Salt Crystals:
-
Warm Sulfuric Acid: Carefully place some dilute sulfuric acid into a conical flask. Gently warm it in a water bath. Caution: Sulfuric acid is corrosive; handle with care and wear appropriate safety goggles and gloves.
-
Add Copper Oxide: Add copper oxide powder, a little at a time, to the warm acid. Stir the mixture continuously with a glass rod.
-
Continue Adding and Stirring: Keep adding copper oxide powder until it is in excess. This means that some of the copper oxide will no longer dissolve and will remain at the bottom of the flask. This ensures all the sulfuric acid has reacted.
-
Filter the Mixture: Filter the mixture to remove the unreacted (excess) copper oxide. This will give you a clear blue copper sulfate solution.
-
Evaporate the Water: Pour the copper sulfate solution into an evaporating dish. Gently heat the solution using a water bath or a low heat source to evaporate most of the water. Do not boil the solution, as this can lead to smaller, less defined crystals.
-
Allow Crystallization: Once a saturated solution is formed (small crystals start to form around the edge of the dish), stop heating and allow the remaining water to evaporate slowly at room temperature. This slow evaporation promotes the formation of larger, more well-formed copper sulfate crystals.
-
Collect the Crystals: Once all the water has evaporated, you will be left with beautiful blue copper sulfate crystals. Carefully scrape the crystals from the evaporating dish.
Summary: You create copper salt crystals by reacting copper oxide with sulfuric acid, filtering out the excess copper oxide, and then evaporating the water to allow the copper sulfate to crystallize.
