Dehydration of hydrated copper(II) sulfate

Steps:

• Identify the reactant as CuSO₄·5H₂O, the hydrated form, filling gap 1 with "hydrated."
• Note the hydrated form appears as blue crystals, filling gap 2 with "blue crystalline."
• Recognize the product CuSO₄ as the anhydrous form, filling gap 3 with "anhydrous."
• Observe the anhydrous product as a white powder, filling gap 4 with "white powder."

Why D is correct:

• The formula CuSO₄·5H₂O defines the blue hydrated crystals dehydrating to white anhydrous CuSO₄ powder upon heating, matching the reaction equation.

Why the others are wrong:

• A: Incorrectly starts with "anhydrous" instead of hydrated reactant.
• B: Misstates starting material as colourless and anhydrous, reversing colors.
• C: Describes hydrated form as blue powder (it's crystalline) and product as colourless crystalline (it's white powder).

Final answer: D