The Copper Cycle Experiment - A Series of Reactions

Summary

In this educational video, Goober King conducts a copper cycle experiment, demonstrating the transformation of copper through various chemical reactions. Starting with copper metal and nitric acid, he forms copper nitrate and nitrogen dioxide gas. The copper nitrate then reacts with sodium hydroxide to create copper hydroxide and sodium nitrate. Upon heating, copper hydroxide decomposes into copper oxide and water. Copper oxide reacts with hydrochloric acid to form copper chloride, and finally, zinc metal reacts with copper chloride to precipitate copper, completing the cycle. The video showcases a real lab setting with professional equipment, offering viewers an engaging and informative experience.

Takeaways

• 🔬 The experiment demonstrates the copper cycle, where copper undergoes a series of chemical reactions and transformations.
• 📝 The equations provided in the video are not balanced, indicating that they are simplified for the purpose of the demonstration.
• 🧪 Copper reacts with nitric acid to form copper nitrate and nitrogen dioxide gas, resulting in a light blue solution.
• 🌀 Copper nitrate then reacts with sodium hydroxide to produce a dark blue precipitate of copper hydroxide and sodium nitrate.
• 🔥 Heating copper hydroxide leads to its decomposition into dark black copper oxide and water.
• 🌿 Copper oxide reacts with hydrochloric acid to form copper chloride, which has a light green color.
• 🔄 The final step involves reacting copper chloride with zinc metal, which displaces the copper and forms zinc chloride, completing the cycle.
• 🧑‍🔬 The video is sped up to show the reaction progress more quickly, and the experiment includes steps to ensure proper reaction conditions.
• 🏫 The experiment is conducted in a professional laboratory setting, indicating a higher level of safety and access to equipment compared to a home lab.
• 🎓 The presenter is learning chemistry from a local college professor and is grateful for the opportunity to use the college's laboratory facilities for experiments.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video by Goober King Science Today?

The main focus of the video is the copper cycle experiment, which demonstrates a series of chemical reactions involving copper.

What are the initial reactants in the copper cycle experiment?

The initial reactants are copper metal and nitric acid.

What color is the copper nitrate solution formed in the experiment?

The copper nitrate solution is described as light blue, although it can also appear brown due to the presence of nitrogen dioxide gas.

What is the role of sodium hydroxide in the copper cycle experiment?

Sodium hydroxide reacts with copper nitrate to form a dark blue precipitate of copper hydroxide and soluble sodium nitrate.

How is copper hydroxide decomposed in the experiment?

Copper hydroxide is decomposed using heat, which results in the formation of dark black copper oxide and water.

What is the color of the copper chloride solution formed when copper oxide reacts with hydrochloric acid?

The copper chloride solution is a bright green color.

What happens when zinc metal is added to the copper chloride solution?

Zinc metal reacts with copper chloride, forming zinc chloride and precipitating copper metal, which is a key part of the copper cycle.

What method is used to retrieve the copper oxide from the reaction mixture?

Vacuum filtration is used to retrieve the copper oxide from the reaction mixture.

What is the significance of the copper cycle experiment in the video?

The copper cycle experiment demonstrates the transformation and recycling of copper through different compounds, showcasing the reactivity of copper and its compounds.

What additional information does the video provide about the setting of the experiment?

The video mentions that the experiment is conducted in a local college laboratory, which provides access to equipment and chemicals not available in a home laboratory.

What is the final outcome of the copper cycle experiment as described in the video?

The final outcome is the precipitation of copper metal, which is the same as the starting material, thus completing the copper cycle.

Outlines

00:00

🔬 Copper Cycle Experiment Overview

This paragraph introduces a chemistry experiment focusing on the copper cycle. The narrator, Goober King, outlines the steps of the experiment, which includes the reaction of copper metal with nitric acid to form copper nitrate and nitrogen dioxide gas, the subsequent reaction of copper nitrate with sodium hydroxide to produce copper hydroxide and sodium nitrate, the decomposition of copper hydroxide upon heating to form copper oxide and water, and finally, the reaction of copper oxide with hydrochloric acid to form copper chloride and water. The last step involves reacting copper chloride with zinc metal to precipitate copper and form zinc chloride. The narrator also mentions that the equations provided are not balanced and apologizes for the lack of subscript numbers due to limitations in the editing program. The paragraph concludes with a demonstration of the experiment's first steps, including the reaction of copper powder with nitric acid and the formation of nitrogen dioxide gas.

05:04

🎓 Collaboration with a Local College Laboratory

In this paragraph, the narrator shares personal updates and expresses gratitude for the opportunity to learn chemistry from a professor at a local college. This collaboration has allowed the narrator to film videos in a professional laboratory setting, providing access to advanced equipment and chemicals that were previously unavailable in a home laboratory. The narrator encourages viewers to subscribe for future videos featuring experiments conducted in this new environment, highlighting the educational value and the enhanced production quality that comes with working in a real laboratory.

Keywords

💡Copper cycle

The copper cycle refers to a series of chemical reactions involving copper and its compounds, demonstrating its transformation through different states. In the video, the copper cycle is the central theme, showcasing how copper starts as a metal and goes through various chemical reactions to form compounds like copper nitrate, copper hydroxide, copper oxide, copper chloride, and finally returns to its metallic form.

💡Nitric acid

Nitric acid is a strong, corrosive acid that reacts with copper to form copper nitrate and nitrogen dioxide gas. In the script, nitric acid is used to initiate the copper cycle by reacting with copper metal, illustrating the oxidizing nature of nitric acid and its ability to dissolve metals.

💡Copper nitrate

Copper nitrate is a compound formed when copper reacts with nitric acid. It is described in the video as having a light blue color, indicating the presence of copper ions in solution. Copper nitrate is a key intermediate in the copper cycle, linking the initial reaction of copper with nitric acid to subsequent reactions.

💡Sodium hydroxide

Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye or caustic soda, is a strong base used in the video to react with copper nitrate. This reaction forms a dark blue precipitate of copper hydroxide and soluble sodium nitrate, demonstrating the role of bases in precipitating metal hydroxides from their nitrate salts.

💡Copper hydroxide

Copper hydroxide is a dark blue precipitate formed when copper nitrate reacts with sodium hydroxide. The video describes the formation of this precipitate, which is a key step in the copper cycle, showing how a soluble copper compound can be converted into an insoluble form.

💡Decomposition

Decomposition in chemistry refers to the breaking down of a compound into simpler substances. In the context of the video, copper hydroxide is decomposed using heat to form copper oxide and water. This step in the copper cycle demonstrates the thermal instability of certain copper compounds.

💡Copper oxide

Copper oxide is a black solid formed when copper hydroxide is heated and decomposes. The video describes the transformation of copper hydroxide to copper oxide, which is a crucial step in the copper cycle, showing the change from a hydrated to a dehydrated form of copper.

💡Hydrochloric acid

Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid used in the video to react with copper oxide, forming copper chloride and water. This reaction demonstrates the ability of acids to dissolve metal oxides and is part of the process to regenerate copper in its elemental form.

💡Copper chloride

Copper chloride is a light green compound formed when copper oxide reacts with hydrochloric acid. In the video, the formation of copper chloride is part of the copper cycle, showing how copper can be converted into a soluble form that can then react with other metals.

💡Zinc

Zinc is a reactive metal that displaces copper from copper chloride in a single displacement reaction, as described in the video. This reaction forms zinc chloride and precipitates copper, which is a key step in the copper cycle, demonstrating the reductive nature of zinc and its ability to revert copper ions back to the metallic state.

💡Vacuum filtration

Vacuum filtration is a technique used in the video to separate solid substances from liquids under reduced pressure. It is used to retrieve copper oxide from the reaction mixture and later to collect the final copper product. This method is essential in purifying and isolating the copper throughout the copper cycle.

Highlights

Introduction to the copper cycle experiment

List of required supplies for the experiment

Description of the unbalanced chemical equations involved

Reaction of copper metal with nitric acid to form copper nitrate and nitrogen dioxide gas

Formation of a dark blue precipitate of copper hydroxide with sodium hydroxide

Decomposition of copper hydroxide into copper oxide and water using heat

Reaction of copper oxide with hydrochloric acid to form copper chloride

Reaction of copper chloride with zinc metal to precipitate copper and form zinc chloride

Demonstration of the experiment using 0.5 grams of copper powder and 6 M nitric acid

Observation of nitrogen dioxide gas formation during the reaction

Dilution of the reaction mixture with distilled water and formation of light blue copper nitrate

Addition of sodium hydroxide to form copper hydroxide precipitate and testing with litmus paper

Setup for heating copper hydroxide to decompose it into copper oxide

Observation of copper hydroxide darkening as it decomposes

Vacuum filtration to retrieve the formed copper oxide

Dissolution of copper oxide in hydrochloric acid to form bright green copper chloride

Addition of zinc powder to the copper chloride solution and formation of zinc chloride

Precipitation of copper metal and its retrieval through vacuum filtration

Weighing the retrieved copper and discussing the mass loss during the experiment

Mention of collaboration with a local college professor and access to a real laboratory

Invitation to subscribe for future laboratory experiments

Transcripts

hello this is goober King science today

will be in the copper cycle experiment

pause the video and look at the supplies

you will need this experiment first I'm

going to describe all the steps in this

experiment please note these equations

are not balanced I'm also sorry that I'm

not able to do subscript numbers as

that's not supported by my editing

program TN copper metal is reacted with

nitric acid to form copper nitrate which

is a light blue color also Brown

nitrogen dioxide gas is formed next the

copper nitrate is reacted with sodium

hydroxide forming a dark blue

precipitate of copper hydroxide and

soluble sodium nitrate now the copper

hydroxide is decomposed using heat

source this will form dark black copper

oxide and water now the dark black

copper oxide is reacted with

hydrochloric acid to form copper

chloride and water the copper chloride

is a light green color finally the

copper chloride is reacted with zinc

metal this warm zinc chloride and then a

comprar mental that we started out in

the beginning of the reaction with

should precipitate out now it's time to

actually perform the experiment first

way on half of one gram of copper powder

and put it into a 150 milliliter beaker

now add 10 milliliters of 6 molar nitric

acid this clip is sped up 4 times and it

takes a little bit for the copper metal

to start reacting but pretty soon the

nitrogen dioxide gas begins to form as

you can see now it's really getting

going I forgot to video it but once this

is done reacting you need to dilute it

with 10 milliliters of distilled water

you can see the light blue copper

nitrate that is formed now add 20

milliliters of 6 molar sodium hydroxide

to the copper nitrate and send arc blue

precipitate of copper hydroxide stir

this up to make sure that it's all

reacted test this with red and blue

litmus paper to make sure that it's

basic blue litmus paper should stay blue

the red litmus paper

should turn blue indicating we have a

basic solution now set up a ring stand

with the metal ring and a wire gauze so

that we can set the beaker the copper

hydroxide right on top light your Bunsen

burner and begin heating the copper

hydroxide after a little bit you should

begin to see it darken as it decomposes

into the copper oxide I'm using a wash

bottle to get all the copper hydroxide

off the sides of the beaker now that a

lot of copper oxide is began to form the

solution is quite dark here's the

finished product now I'm going to

perform a vacuum filtration to retrieve

the copper oxide put the booster funnel

into a three-pronged clamp over 150

milliliter beaker and slowly add 20

milliliters of three molar hydrochloric

acid to it you can mix this up with a

stir rod what's happening is the copper

oxide is dissolving into copper chloride

the copper chloride formed is a bright

green color you can use a pipette to

place some of the copper chloride

solution back into the top of the blue

pin air puddle if all the copper oxides

been resolved in the first edition

next need to weigh out one gram of zinc

powder now add this to the copper

chloride solution and should begin to

bubble and react what's happening is the

zinc is more active so it's taking the

place of the copper metal and forming

zinc chloride as you can see the copper

chloride color is going away and

becoming tweeter

now what's this oh look the copper that

we started out in the beginning with is

right back where we started with in the

bottom of 150 milliliter beaker we can

perform a vacuum filtration

there's the copper we started out with I

weighed this and it was point four six

one grams I lost about point zero four

grams during this experiment

can we talk yeah you can talk alright I

decided the nitric acid so you go in

then and yo but sailing over the top of

this yeah I'm gonna hoist over like now

you add the 10 milliliters Oh good color

learner

how do you ready to get the dark you

might turn it so that the this white

thing is the other dress hand so they

could see them nitrogen so you has the

videos to Brian yeah no well he has a

YouTube channel but he does a games and

stuff of it that's cool I have not

posted a video in a long time so don't

you

there we can see the ground yes starting

to farm you want to take a picture of

Rory inhaling up it yeah the lighting on

the floor twitching it's probably at the

mouth okay

no no it's really good and this is Rory

two hours later

[Music]

thanks for watching one thing I'd like

to say is recently I've been learning

chemistry from a professor at the local

college and he's allowing me to make

videos in their laboratory and that's

why I am working in a real lab in this

experiment and you can see that I have

access to all kinds of equipment and

chemicals that I could never even have

dreamed of having access to in my home

laboratory so thank you to them for

letting me use their facilities I'll be

doing more videos in the future if that

laboratory so please subscribe so you

can see those awesome experiments