Question

What do you observe when blue vitriol is heated?

Answer 1

Blue vitriol:

• Blue vitriol is a common name for hydrated Copper sulfate.
• It is made up of Copper sulfate along with $5$ molecules of water.
• The molecular formula of blue vitriol is ${\mathrm{CuSO}}_4.5{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}$.

Heating of blue vitriol:

• When blue vitriol or hydrated Copper sulfate solution is heated, it loses its water of crystallization and becomes anhydrous.
• ${\mathrm{CuSO}}_4.5{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)\stackrel{∆}{\to }{\mathrm{CuSO}}_4\left(\mathrm{s}\right)+5{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\uparrow$
• The anhydrous form of Copper sulfate solution is ${\mathrm{CuSO}}_4$ and it is greyish-white in color.