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In general, copper will not displace hydrogen from water or from acids, but in the case of hot, concentration H2SO4 a reaction will occur with copper. Why? Because hot, concentrated H2SO4 will act as an oxidizing agent to oxidize the copper to copper cation. HCl cannot do this.

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HCl does not react with copper because copper is below hydrogen in the reactivity series, which means it is less reactive than hydrogen and cannot displace it from the acid. On the other hand, H2SO4 can react with copper because sulfuric acid is a strong oxidizing agent and can oxidize copper to form copper sulfate and hydrogen gas.

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10mo ago
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Q: Why HCl doesn't react with copper but H2SO4 does?
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