Direct Addition

• 1). Put on your goggles and latex gloves. These items are safety equipment that will prevent any injury to you. Some of the reagents used in the preparation of copper sulfate can cause burns or skin irritation.
  
  
• 2). Place a beaker in the laboratory bench. Choose an appropriate size beaker that holds twice the amount of solution than what you need to make.
  
  
• 3). Add the amount of distilled water for your solution to the beaker. Pour the water into the beaker slowly to avoid spilling any over the sides.
  
  
• 4). Weigh out the amount of copper sulfate required to make the concentration of solution that you require. Copper sulfate is slightly soluble in water, so if you need a greater concentration than approximately 100 g per liter, select a different method for generating the solution.
  
  
• 5). Add the copper sulfate to the distilled water and stir with a stirring rod until all the crystals have dissolved in the distilled water.
  
  
• 6). Heat the solution using a heating plate if necessary to get the crystals to dissolve. The heat will allow more crystals to dissolve in the water; however, you run the risk of obtaining a super saturated solution that will precipitate out crystals as it cools.
  
  

Using Citric Acid

• 1). Complete the first three steps for the previous method.
  
  
• 2). Weigh out the amount of copper sulfate required and an equal amount of citric acid crystals. Citric acid helps the copper sulfate dissolve in water and provides a stabilizing effect to the resulting solution.
  
  
• 3). Add the citric acid and copper sulfate to the beaker of water. Stir with a stirring rod until all the solid dissolves.