cupric sulfate
- noun
- /ˈkjuːprɪk ˈsʌlfeɪt/
- Specialized
- The laboratory used cupric sulfate for the experiment.
Examples
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Gardeners sometimes use cupric sulfate as a fungicide to protect plants from disease.
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Cupric sulfate crystals are easily recognizable by their bright blue color.
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The laboratory technician added cupric sulfate to the solution to test for reducing sugars.
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Farmers often apply cupric sulfates to control fungal diseases.
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Farmers often use cupric sulfate to eliminate fungal infections in crops.
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In the laboratory, scientists added cupric sulfate to the solution to test its chemical properties.
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The gardener recommended applying cupric sulfate to prevent algae growth in the pond.
Synonyms
A bright blue salt used to kill fungus on plants and for simple lab work
A blue chemical that forms shiny crystals and is used in labs and factories
A bright blue mineral of copper that forms crystals in dry places
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is fully compositional: 'cupric' specifies copper in the +2 oxidation state and 'sulfate' names the SO4^2− anion, so together they denote copper(II) sulfate. This follows standard adjective + noun chemical naming conventions (common cross-linguistically), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.
Etymology
Cupric sulfate comes from two parts: cupric, from an old word for 'copper', and sulfate, meaning a 'salt of sulfur'. So the name simply says 'copper salt', which helps explain why this bright blue chemical is a copper compound used in gardens and labs.