Question
Question: Give the chemical composition of copper pyrites?...
Give the chemical composition of copper pyrites?
Solution
Copper pyrite is an important ore of copper. It is also known as copper iron sulphide. Copper pyrite includes one molecule of copper, one molecule of iron and two molecules of sulphur in it.
Complete step by step answer:
In this question, pyrites is a brass yellow mineral having a metallic luster. Pyrites have a chemical composition of iron sulphide. It consists of one molecule of iron and two molecules of sulphur. Hence, chemical composition of pyrites can be written as FeS2. It is the most common sulphide mineral.
Copper pyrite is an important ore of copper. Copper pyrites consist of copper and pyrites. Copper pyrite is also known as Chalcopyrite. Copper pyrites have one molecule of copper, one molecule of iron and two molecules of sulphur in it. Therefore, the chemical formula of copper pyrite can be written as : CuFeS2. The chemical formula CuFeS2 corresponds with the percentage composition of copper (Cu=34.5%), Iron (30.5%) and Sulphur (S=35%).
Hence, the required chemical composition of copper pyrites is CuFeS2.
Additional information: Copper pyrite is also used for the extraction of copper metal. Most of the copper of about 75% is extracted from the sulphide ores of copper or from copper pyrites. Copper pyrite is a soft mineral that can be scratched by a nail, while pyrite is hard enough that a nail cannot dig into its surface.
Note:
Always remember that the pyrite is an iron sulphide and has the chemical formula a FeS2. Also, copper pyrite is called copper iron sulphide with the chemical formula CuFeS2. Whereas, Cu2S is simply a copper sulphide.