What happens when

(a) Dilute sulphuric acid is poured on a copper plate?

(b) Iron nails are placed in copper sulphate solution? Write word equations of the reactions involved.

(a) When dilute sulphuric acid is poured on a copper plate, bubbles appear on the surface of plate. This happens because sulphuric acid reacts with copper(metal) to produce hydrogen gas. This can be shown by following equation:

This can be shown by the following equation:

H₂SO₄ (Sulphuric acid) + Cu (Metal) →     CuSO₄ (Copper sulphate)+ H₂ (Hydrogen gas)

(b) Iron being more reactive displaces copper from copper sulphate solution. In this reaction, the blue colour of copper sulphate fades and there is deposition of copper on the iron nail.

Iron (Fe) + Copper Sulphate (CuSO₄) → Iron Sulphate (FeSO₄) + Copper (Cu)