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Description

An activity to monitor the affects of vinegar on copper coins. Turn them green and then shiny!

Resources

Copper coins
White vinegar
Salt
Water
Paper Towels
Bowls

Optional - ketchup, lemon, cola (not diet)

Instructions

1 - Put 1tsp of salt into a bowl and add approx 30ml of vinegar. Stir well to dissolve the salt.
2 - Dip half a coin into the solution for approximately 10 seconds. See what happens!
3 - Fill a second bowl just with vinegar.
4 - Drop a few coins into both bowls and leave for approximately 30 seconds. What do you predict will happen?
5 - Take the coins out of each bowl and put on top of kitchen roll. What differences can you see?
6 - Rinse half of the coins from the bowl with vinegar and salt and leave the others on the paper towel. Leave for a few minutes and check again. Has anything else happened?

(Vinegar being an acid, reacts with the salt in the solution to remove the copper oxide covering the pennies - the bits that make it look dull. When the coins are rinsed in the water, it reveals the clean surface - making them shiny again. If the coins are left to dry without being rinsed, they form a green coating called malachite.)

Optional - Try adding coins to different substances - lemon, ketchup and cola and see if the effects are different. Which is the most effective?

Tags

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Badge Links

• Scientist - Vinegar