Do you pick a penny up when you see it on the ground? Or are you like most people who think the coin has such small value that it isn’t worth the time or energy to give it another thought? This tiny coin may not have much value in the bank, but it's a very interesting piece of metal to use in a science experiment!
What follows are six science experiments that prove the copper coin has interesting scientific value and is still very useful in society.
Advertisement
1. Pennies of silver and gold (h/t NurdRage)
Turning pennies into silver and gold is a great experiment to showcase they chemical reaction between the solution that has to be made and the actual penny. Most pennies today are made of zinc, which causes the pennies to change. Watch the video to see how this chemistry experiment works. But remember that even though the penny looks like gold, it's still just worth one cent.
Turning pennies into silver and gold is a great experiment to showcase they chemical reaction between the solution that has to be made and the actual penny. Most pennies today are made of zinc, which causes the pennies to change. Watch the video to see how this chemistry experiment works. But remember that even though the penny looks like gold, it's still just worth one cent.
2. Penny chemical change experiment ( h/t WorldBookNetwork)
This experiment shows what happens to a penny when it's soaked in vinegar. The result is a very significant change that happens right before your eyes. Of equal interest is observing what the reactions are for pennies made in certain years since some are copper or zinc, etc. The video below gives the steps for this experiment.
This experiment shows what happens to a penny when it's soaked in vinegar. The result is a very significant change that happens right before your eyes. Of equal interest is observing what the reactions are for pennies made in certain years since some are copper or zinc, etc. The video below gives the steps for this experiment.
3. Coca-Cola and penny experiment ( h/t HugoCorrea)
Back in the old days, you could get an ice-cold Coca-Cola for five pennies. That was a long, long time ago. Now, experimenters have found a cool way to explain chemistry with the same two items. Follow the instructions in the video and watch what happens when Coca-Cola and pennies interact.
4. 3-penny battery experiment ( h/t TheKingofRandom)
It's the metallic makeup of pennies that allow them to be great conductors of electricity. In this experiment, create your own tiny battery with pennies. Click the link to see how this is even possible.
5. Penny cleaning experiment ( h/t Photofantastic16)
There's an urban myth in some coin collector circles about a small group of pennies spread throughout the world that are worth slightly more than a million dollars. One of the ways to identify these pennies is by looking at the year the penny was created. So many pennies are so dirty that you can barely tell it is a penny let alone the year the penny was pressed. That's where this experiment is applied in real life. Give the experiment a try, find out which agent is the best cleaning tool and start cleaning. Who knows? You may have one of the million-dollar pennies.
6. Lime and penny experiment ( h/t CrazyRussianHacker)
At first thought, a lime and penny have nothing to do with each other and would never go together in the real world. In science, however, the combination of the two makes for an exciting experiment. See what happens to a penny when you put it in a lime, and find out what causes the reaction. Click the link to check out the Crazy Russian Hacker and his penny and lime experiment.
Advertisement