Copper sulfate commonly refers to copper (II) sulfate or cupric sulfate. This chemical compound is made up of two ions- a copper (II) ion and sulfate ion. Copper (II) ion or cupric ion is denoted by Cu2+ and sulfate ion has an ionic formula of SO4^2-. The overall ionic formula of copper (II) sulfate is CuSO4.
The chemical formula of an ionic compound contains the cation first, followed by the anion. Both cations and anions are followed by the number of atoms of each ion. Using these guidelines, the chemical formula of copper (II) sulfate can be written as CuSO4. We can similarly write the chemical formula of copper (I) sulfate or cuprous sulfate as Cu2SO4.
Generally, ionic equations and chemical equations are used for chemical reactions, when two or more chemical compounds react with each other, rather than for individual chemical compounds.
