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11 grade chemistry others

What is the oxidation state of copper in CuSO4 ?

Profile image of Aniket Singh
1 Year agoGrade
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Profile image of Askiitians Tutor Team
1 Year ago

In copper sulfate, CuSO4, the oxidation state of copper (Cu) is +2.

To determine the oxidation state of an element in a compound, you can use some general rules:

The oxidation state of a monatomic ion is equal to its charge. In this case, sulfate (SO4^2-) is a polyatomic ion with a charge of -2.

The sum of the oxidation states of all atoms in a neutral compound is equal to zero.

So, if you let x represent the oxidation state of copper (Cu), you can set up the following equation:

x + 4(-2) = 0

Solving for x:

x - 8 = 0
x = 8

Therefore, the oxidation state of copper (Cu) in CuSO4 is +2.