Here's the balanced chemical equation:
2NaOH(aq) + CuSO₄(aq) → Cu(OH)₂(s) + Na₂SO₄(aq)
Here's a breakdown of the reaction:
* Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is a strong base.
* Copper sulfate (CuSO₄) is a soluble salt containing copper ions (Cu²⁺).
* When these two solutions are mixed, the hydroxide ions (OH⁻) from NaOH react with the copper ions (Cu²⁺) from CuSO₄.
* This reaction forms copper hydroxide (Cu(OH)₂) which is insoluble in water and precipitates out as a blue solid.
* The remaining ions, sodium (Na⁺) and sulfate (SO₄²⁻), remain in solution as sodium sulfate (Na₂SO₄).
This reaction is an example of a double displacement reaction where the cations and anions of two reactants switch places to form new products.