Gold plated penny lab pdf

The gold penny lab northern highlands regional high school. Brass is a metal alloy that has frequently been confused for gold, especially by people who dont see gold often. Brass has the advantage of being corrosion resistant. This version of silver and gold pennies utilizes zinc sulfate as less caustic than sodium hydroxide and. Submerge the penny in the 1m sodium hydroxide solution containing zinc dust. More experiments in the penny lab acs publications. In part 1, zinc from a galvanized nail an iron nail which has been coated with zinc by dipping it in molten zinc will be plated onto a copper penny. Place penny 2 in the solution while observing it very closely. Generally, when people talk about a gold penny, they are talking about a normal penny that has been treated to give it a gold color. Dip the penny in the beaker of water until it is cool to the touch. In doing so, you are following a tradition that goes back to the earliest days of chemistry.

Add one or two drops of soap to the cup of water and see how this affects the number of paperclips it will hold. A penny was placed on top of the zinc strips and soon after the penny became covered in a layer of zinc. When the zinc plated penny is heated over the bunsen burner, the silvery zinc coating melts along with the copper metal forming a new metal, brass that appears gold in color. Once the penny is a brassygolden color, use tweezers to pick up the penny and transfer it into the wash beaker to rinse and cool. Gold one penny piece buy 1p gold currency coins at. Using forceps to place the now silver penny in the beaker of water. Watch as the heat diffuses the zinc with the copper to form a brass alloy. Glue silver, gold and copper penny onto index card.

Remove the silver penny from the water and blot it dry. The explanation was that the zinc metal transferred electrons to copper which in turn reduced the zinc ions in solution, but this does not seem to make any sense as the zinc is being oxidized to. In this experiment you will produce some color changes to a copper token and. Did the copper and zinc undergo a physical change or a chemical change when the penny was bathed in the zincnaoh solution. When the zinccoated penny is heated, the penny becomes gold in color. Please note there may be some minor marks on the coin this is reflected in the price. Get the best deals on gold indian head small cents 1859 1909 when you shop the largest online selection at. And in some even rarer cases, a penny may have been struck accidentally on a blank of the wrong metal. A pretty penny the ubiquitous penny used to be made mostly of copper but is now mostly zinc. The specific gravity or density of pure gold is 19. Before people knew much about atomic structure and bonding, there was a group of pseudoscientists called alchemists. Penny pre1982 hot plate 1 m zncl 2 or 1 m znso 4 glass stirring rod granular zn tongs bunsen burner 150 ml beaker procedure.

Gently heat the penny in the outer cool part of a burner flame or with a lighter or candle or even set it on a hotplate. Seriously though, theres no way to turn an old penny into real gold. In doing so, you are following a tradition that dates back to the earliest days of chemistry. The good news is, you can turn old pennies into what looks like gold. Use the eye dropper to drop water on the penny, one drop at a time. You would just need to bombard the pennies with protons and neutrons until they turn to gold. The penny will become coated with zinc and turn a silverish color.

Hot plate, 250 ml beakers 2, crucible tongs, triangular file. Copper cu, the familiar metal of pennies, will be changed in properties by heating it with zinc zn in the presence of a solution of zinc chloride zncl 2. The density of copper, zinc, silver, and gold are given in the table below. The gold color is due to the zinc and copper combining to form the metallic mixture brass. A brass alloy is formed on the surface of a penny pre1982 to generate silver color. In order to prove a new composition of post1992 pennies the author proposes either to heat a penny in a bunsen burner.

This activity will explore two examples of electroplating. An alloy is a mixture of two or more metals dissolved in each other when molten or a metal and nonmetal fused together. This pursuit was called alchemy and the people who engaged in alchemy were called alchemists. Clean the pennies thoroughly of all oxidation using tarnex andor steel wool.

Count the number of drops until the water spills over the edge of the penny. A safer gold rush penny lab shows a new, safer method of doing the popular gold and silver pennies lab in this flinn chemistry minute. In order to turn the penny gold well melt the thin layer of zinc on the outside of the penny into the copper underneath. We did the gold penny lab, where we bathed a copper penny in a hot zincnaoh mixture to turn it a silver color, then we heated that in a flame to turn it a gold color. Brassing a penny alloying copper and zinc wear safety glasses and aprons. Copper penny lab please help me answer this question. Based on this information, did you really change the copper token into gold. Introduction in this lab, you will be converting a regular penny into a gold penny. Gold indian head small cents 18591909 for sale ebay. Remove the penny from heat as soon as it changes color. From 1962 to 1982, the penny was 95% copper and 5% zinc. The modern practice of chemistry started with the study of alchemy in medieval europe and the middle east. Long ago, early scientists, tried to turn ordinary things into gold. This lab can also be done using 1m zncl2 zinc chloride 5 grams per ml of solution for the.

The lesson uses in depth laboratory procedure to familiarize students with the operations of a laboratory as well as an activity to help students learn about physical properties of elements and the visual manifestations of physical changes. And by using sufficient heat, a zinc plated copper penny can be changed to a gold color. We did this by turning the penny into a zinc plating and then turning it into an alloy brass sources. Not the most cost effective way of getting your hands on some gold. You might want to wear plastic gloves when using tarnex. Turning copper pennies into silver and gold pennies.

There are two questions that go with this lab that i dont understand, however. Mint need to develop a new alloy for the golden dollar. No one can just turn pennies into silver or gold coins, but someone with a few chemicals can. Be careful to only submerge the penny and not the alligator clip. This is a difficult task because zinc is much more. The coin looks the same as a regular 1p piece, but it is heavier than the base metal version, and contains 6. The gold penny lab in this lab, you will be converting a regular penny into a gold penny. A silver penny by coating zinc onto their penny a gold. Using tongs, hold the penny in the flame of your alcohol burner and rotate to evenly heat. And by using sufficient heat, a zinc plated copper penny can be changed to a.

Get rich quick by turning an ordinary penny into silver and then gold. Do not write on lab lab alchemy aka the magic penny goggles must be worn at all times. When we do this well make the alloy brass which has a nice gold color. Number of drops of water held by a penny trial number of drops. Pure gold is relatively softit has about the hardness of a penny. The zinc which was already silver coated the penny. How to make gold pennies experiments steve spangler. The percentages of copper and zinc in brass vary depending on the type of brass.

Assume that the metal is an alloy of gold and silver, which have densities of 19. Journal observations throughout the procedure in your notebook. In this activity you will observe how the properties of a metal can be changed. Free shipping on many items browse your favorite brands. Another unusual method to reveal the interior of a coin is to remove the outer copper plating. In 1982 the composition of pennies was changed because they contained more than 1 cents worth of copper. Penny lab prelab making gold and silver pennies youtube. Using forceps, hold the silver penny in the flame of a bunsen burner. One of the most famous and repeated chemistry experiments involves money.

A small amount of the less dense silver had been alloyed with the gold. More experiments in the penny lab i read with great pleasure the very interesting and useful article introducing scientific reasoning with the penny lab by r. I once tried to steer a friend away from the gold plated state quarters because of this but he felt the gold plating would make them more valuable. Zinc, on the other hand, would react with air and in a few days youd have a dull grey penny.

Some would say this is more of a trick than an experiment, but you can be the judge of that. Even though its a gold penny, the us treasury has a little problem with people trying to buy something. I did a chemistry lab in which i heated copper pennies in sodium hydroxide solution changed the copper to silver, then heated it on hot plate changed the silver to gold. Researchers at michigan state university figure out how to transmute a. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. You can also give the students a chance to try this demo again after they have completed the penny lab. Please consult your current flinn scientific catalogreference manual for general. Using tongs, hold the penny in the flame of a bunsen burner and gently heat. Discussion in coin chat started by andy kim, jan 6, 2015. When the zinc plated penny is heated over the bunsen burner, the silvery zinc coating melts along with the copper metal forming a new metal, brass that appears.