I put a peice of copper into a flame and I need to write a word equation for it. Whats a flame made up of cause I wanna write

copper + _____ -> _______ + ________

I know its a synthesis reaction.

It isn't the flame that is reacting with Cu. Its the air. The flame simply raises the temperature to make the reaction with oxygen of the air a little faster.

copper + oxygen ==> copper oxide.
You will have a little problem here (I would have a little problem, too) because copper forms both copper(I) oxide as well as copper(II) oxide. Which one do we choose? If the copper is in the form of a foil and is placed in a crucible with a lid, it forms copper(I) oxide. I think copper metal heated in an open flame of a burner would form copper(II) oxide but check me out on that.

When a piece of copper is placed in a flame, the flame is primarily a mixture of gases undergoing combustion. The combustible components of the flame typically include hydrocarbons, such as methane (CH4), which are often present as a fuel source. Therefore, a balanced word equation for this synthesis reaction can be written as:

copper + methane (or another hydrocarbon) -> copper oxide + water vapor

To write a word equation for the reaction when a piece of copper is put into a flame, we need to know what the flame is made up of.

A flame is typically composed of three key elements: heat, oxygen, and a fuel source. The heat provides the energy necessary for the reaction to occur, oxygen acts as an oxidizing agent, and the fuel source sustains the fire.

In this case, we can assume that the flame is fueled by a hydrocarbon, such as natural gas. So, we can write the word equation as follows:

copper + oxygen + methane gas (or natural gas) -> copper oxide + water vapor

The reaction above represents a synthesis reaction, as you mentioned, where copper reacts with oxygen to form copper oxide. The fuel source (methane or natural gas) also undergoes a combustion reaction with oxygen to produce water vapor.

It's worth noting that the exact nature of the products can vary depending on the conditions and the presence of impurities. Additionally, the color of the flame may also depend on the specific elements or compounds present in the copper sample.