If a spoon of copper metal is placed in a solution of ferrous sulphate .

Options

A. `Cu` will precipitate out
B. iron will precipitate
C. `Cu` and `Fe` will precipitate
D. no reaction will take place

Explanation

To solve the problem of what happens when a spoon of copper metal is placed in a solution of ferrous sulfate, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Identify the reactants and their oxidation states
- The reactants are copper (Cu) and ferrous sulfate (FeSO₄).
- In FeSO₄, iron (Fe) has an oxidation state of +2, while copper (Cu) in its metallic form has an oxidation state of 0.

### Step 2: Determine the possible reactions
- When copper is placed in the ferrous sulfate solution, we can hypothesize that a reaction might occur where copper is oxidized and iron is reduced:
- Cu (s) → Cu²⁺ (aq) + 2e⁻ (oxidation)
- Fe²⁺ (aq) + 2e⁻ → Fe (s) (reduction)

### Step 3: Check the standard reduction potentials
- The standard reduction potential for Cu²⁺/Cu is +0.34 V.
- The standard reduction potential for Fe²⁺/Fe is -0.44 V.

### Step 4: Calculate the cell potential (E°cell)
- The cell potential can be calculated using the formula:
\[ E°_{cell} = E°_{cathode} - E°_{anode} \]
- Here, the cathode is where reduction occurs (Fe²⁺ to Fe) and the anode is where oxidation occurs (Cu to Cu²⁺).
- Therefore:
\[ E°_{cell} = (-0.44 \, \text{V}) - (+0.34 \, \text{V}) = -0.78 \, \text{V} \]

### Step 5: Analyze the cell potential
- Since the calculated E°cell is negative (-0.78 V), it indicates that the reaction is not feasible under standard conditions.

### Conclusion
- Therefore, when a spoon of copper metal is placed in a solution of ferrous sulfate, **no reaction will take place**.

---