Chemistry question

Question

I wonder if Cu cant react with dilute h2so4 then why does CuO react with it?

Answer 1

Cu as a solid (metal) is not active enough to replace/displace the hydrogen from H₂SO₄ if the H₂SO₄ is dilute. If you use concentrated H₂SO₄, there will be a reaction with Cu.

In CuO, copper(II) oxide, the copper is in the 2⁺ oxidation state and is no longer Cu with a zero oxidation state. In this case, the Cu²⁺ ion can certainly react with H₂SO₄ to produce CuSO₄. The other product would be H₂O.