Question

What happens when zinc reacts with copper sulphate solution?

Answer 1

Zinc $\left(\mathrm{Zn}\right)$ is more reactive than copper $\left(\mathrm{Cu}\right)$, therefore it can displace $\mathrm{Cu}$ from aqueous copper sulfate$\left({\mathrm{CuSO}}_4\right)$ solution. In this process, the blue color of $\left({\mathrm{CuSO}}_4\right)$ changes to a colorless ${\mathrm{ZnSO}}_4$ solution.

Balanced reaction

$$\begin{gathered} \mathrm{Zn}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)+\mathrm{CuSO}4\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)\to \mathrm{ZnSO}4\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)+\mathrm{Cu}\left(\mathrm{s}\right) \\ \mathrm{Copper}\mathrm{sulfate}\mathrm{Zinc}\mathrm{sulfate} \end{gathered}$$

This reaction is also known as a single displacement reaction.