Question

Describe how you would precipitate (a) zinc carbonate from a solution of zinc nitrate. (b) copper(II) phosphate from a solution of copper(II) chloride. (c) barium sulfate from a solution of barium hydroxide.

Short answer

Answer: Zinc carbonate can be precipitated from a solution of zinc nitrate by mixing it with sodium carbonate. The chemical reaction can be represented as: Zn(NO3)2 + Na2CO3 → 2NaNO3 + ZnCO3↓ 2. How can copper(II) phosphate be precipitated from a solution of copper(II) chloride? Answer: Copper(II) phosphate can be precipitated from a solution of copper(II) chloride by mixing it with sodium phosphate. The chemical reaction can be represented as: 3CuCl2 + 2Na3PO4 → 6NaCl + Cu3(PO4)2↓ 3. How can barium sulfate be precipitated from a solution of barium hydroxide? Answer: Barium sulfate can be precipitated from a solution of barium hydroxide by mixing it with sodium sulfate. The chemical reaction can be represented as: Ba(OH)2 + Na2SO4 → 2NaOH + BaSO4↓

Step-by-step solution

Precipitating Zinc Carbonate

To precipitate zinc carbonate (ZnCO3) from a solution of zinc nitrate (Zn(NO3)2), we need a source of carbonate ions (CO3^sup2-sdwn). Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) is a suitable reactant for this purpose since it is soluble and dissociates into CO3^sup2-sdwn and sodium ions (Na^sup+sdwn) upon dissolving in water. Mixing these two solutions will result in the following chemical reaction: Zn(NO3)2 + Na2CO3 → 2NaNO3 + ZnCO3↓ Zinc carbonate (ZnCO3) is insoluble and will precipitate as a solid, while sodium nitrate (NaNO3) remains dissolved in the solution.

Precipitating Copper(II) Phosphate

To precipitate copper(II) phosphate (Cu3(PO4)2) from a solution of copper(II) chloride (CuCl2), we need a source of phosphate ions (PO4^sup3-sdwn). Sodium phosphate (Na3PO4) is a suitable reactant for this purpose since it is soluble and dissociates into PO4^sup3-sdwn and sodium ions (Na^sup+sdwn) upon dissolving in water. Mixing these two solutions will result in the following chemical reaction: 3CuCl2 + 2Na3PO4 → 6NaCl + Cu3(PO4)2↓ Copper(II) phosphate (Cu3(PO4)2) is insoluble and will precipitate as a solid, while sodium chloride (NaCl) remains dissolved in the solution.

Precipitating Barium Sulfate

To precipitate barium sulfate (BaSO4) from a solution of barium hydroxide (Ba(OH)2), we need a source of sulfate ions (SO4^sup2-sdwn). Sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) is a suitable reactant for this purpose since it is soluble and dissociates into SO4^sup2-sdwn and sodium ions (Na^sup+sdwn) upon dissolving in water. Mixing these two solutions will result in the following chemical reaction: Ba(OH)2 + Na2SO4 → 2NaOH + BaSO4↓ Barium sulfate (BaSO4) is insoluble and will precipitate as a solid, while sodium hydroxide (NaOH) remains dissolved in the solution.