Striking It Rich Lab Data

Striking It Rich Lab Data

July 22, 2013

Juliet, Nora, Rio

Dr. Forman

Data Table:

	Penny 1 (control)	Penny 2	Penny 3
Reaction	No change	Zinc/zinc chloride heated	Zinc/zinc chloride heated – heat the coin on the hot plate again
Appearance	Copper, bronze, luster, metallic	One side is silver, the other side is reddish with a darker rim	One side is silver, the other side is reddish with a darker rim – one side is turning yellow, the other is turning light bronze

Questions:

1.

• a. The first penny was copper, bronze, luster and metallic. The second penny, when mixed with a zinc/zinc chloride solution, turned silver on one side and reddish copper with a darker rim on the other side. The third penny, after undergoing the same process as the second penny, was placed on the hot plate again and turned yellow on one side and light bronze on the other.
• b. Yes, zinc.

2. If someone claimed there was a precious metal produced, they would be wrong because copper and zinc are reasonably low in value.

3. 2 practical uses for metallic changes are that the different colors could be used for decoration and they could be melted down to form utensils.

4.

• a. The copper atoms changed their appearance when combusted with a zinc solution.
• b. Yes, you can do a reverse experiment to get the copper back.