For the reaction of aluminum with copper(II) sulfate solution, how many moles of aluminum will be required to produce 0.45 moles of copper metal?

In this reaction, aluminum (Al) reacts with copper(II) sulfate (CuSO₄) to produce copper (Cu) and aluminum sulfate (Al₂(SO₄)₃). The balanced chemical equation is:

2 Al + 3 CuSO4 → 3 Cu + Al2(SO4)3

From the balanced equation, we can see that 2 moles of aluminum react with 3 moles of copper(II) sulfate to produce 3 moles of copper. To determine how many moles of aluminum are needed to produce 0.45 moles of copper, we can set up a proportion based on the coefficients in the balanced equation.

From the equation:

• 3 moles of Cu are produced from 2 moles of Al.

We want to find out how many moles of Al (let’s call it x) are required for 0.45 moles of Cu:

3 moles Cu  →  2 moles Al
0.45 moles Cu → x moles Al

Cross-multiplying to find x gives:

3x = 0.45 × 2
3x = 0.90
x = 0.90 / 3
x = 0.30 moles Al

Thus, 0.30 moles of aluminum will be required to produce 0.45 moles of copper metal.