Final answer:
To find out how much copper can precipitate, we use stoichiometry based on a previous reaction example, where 1.274 g of copper sulfate yielded 0.392 g of copper. This proportion helps to determine the mass of copper that can be precipitated from 16.0 g of copper sulfate.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine how much copper will precipitate when 10.0 g of granular zinc is added to a solution containing 16.0 g of aqueous copper (II) sulfate, we need to look at the stoichiometry of the reaction given by the equation:
Zn(s) + CuSO4(aq) → Cu(s) + ZnSO4(aq).
From a previous example, we know that the reaction of 1.274 g of copper sulfate yields 0.392 g of copper when zinc is in excess. Using stoichiometry, we can set up a proportion:
(0.392 g Cu / 1.274 g CuSO4) = (x g Cu / 16.0 g CuSO4),
solving for x gives us the amount of copper that can be produced from 16.0 g of copper sulfate. Once we find the mass of copper that can be precipitated, we can compare it to the amount of zinc used to find out which is in excess and by how much.