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Name: Casey
Status: student
Age: 16
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 11/2/2003
Question:
Why does Aluminum react with cupric chloride, but does not react with copper sulfate or NaCl, but does yield a reaction when you add Aluminum into a mixture of copper sulfate+NaCl?

Replies:
Of course, as you realize copper sulfate + NaCl is also a form of cupric chloride with some sodium sulfate thrown in. I suspect that the underlying reason is the pH of the solutions. The HSO4(-1) the dominant anion present in solution may be buffering the solution, but that is only a guess, in the absence of doing the experiment.

Vince Calder


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