What happens when copper is placed in a solution of zinc sulphate ?
zinc is more reactive than copper, so it will retain the sulphate ‘more easily’. without knowing reactivity you might assume that the copper is substitued for the zinc, forming copper sulphate. both reactions: Zn + CuSO4 > ZnSO4 + Cu and Cu + ZnSO4 > CuSO4 + Zn occur simultaneously, but at normal conditions, the rate of the first equation far outstrips the rate of the second, but every now and then a Cu atom picks up enough energy to displace a Zn ion, which then immediately displaces a Cu ion.
