Thursday, August 3, 2023

Science on a Budget: Coins!

 My husband and I were sorting coins we’d accumulated.  (We’re too frugal to use Coin-star.). I use coins regularly in lab.  Let me share a few labs and experiments.

Elementary:

Surface Tension: How is the Surface Tension of Water Affected by Soap?

Electricity: Penny Battery

Clean Coins: How to Clean Pennies


Physics or Physical Science:

Centripetal Force: Spinning Penny (Dimes May pop the balloon.)

Density: Density of a Penny Lab (Compare pre-1982 and post 1982 pennies.)

Newton’s Laws Intro: Newton’s Laws


Chemistry

Specific Heat: Determining the Specific Heat Capacity of Copper (Use pre-1982 pennies.) 

Reactions: Let’s Do Chemistry with the Penny! (Try with both old and new coins.)

Gold Penny: Gold Penny (This lab uses 3M NaOH and granular zinc.  Do this lab with an expert!  Ask the local Community College to set up a tour.  Request the Alchemy or Gold Penny lab.)

No comments:

Post a Comment

National Chemistry Week is around the corner. Are you ready?

  National Chemistry Week   (NCW) coincides with  Mole Day!   NCW’s 2026 theme is construction.  My Co-op Chemistry class focuses on Mole Da...