Another great experiment, very fun and the kids really thought it was cool. The first time we ran the experiment it didn't work. No conductivity! But in the end we made it work.
The first tip to running this experiment successfully is to know your pennies. In 1983 our mint started making zinc pennies with a thin copper coating. Pennies prior to 1982 were made of 95% copper, these are the pennies you want! Also, keep in mind that in 1982 both types of pennies were made, 95% copper and 97.5% zinc. You can tell the difference by weighing them, zinc pennies weigh 2.5 grams were copper pennies weigh 3 grams.
The second part of this tip is to clean the copper pennies. The simplest way to this is to add 1 T. salt to 1/2 cup of vinegar, they clean almost instantly.
Hope this tip helps make your exploration into making voltaic cells successful the first time. Happy Homeschooling!
The first tip to running this experiment successfully is to know your pennies. In 1983 our mint started making zinc pennies with a thin copper coating. Pennies prior to 1982 were made of 95% copper, these are the pennies you want! Also, keep in mind that in 1982 both types of pennies were made, 95% copper and 97.5% zinc. You can tell the difference by weighing them, zinc pennies weigh 2.5 grams were copper pennies weigh 3 grams.
The second part of this tip is to clean the copper pennies. The simplest way to this is to add 1 T. salt to 1/2 cup of vinegar, they clean almost instantly.
Hope this tip helps make your exploration into making voltaic cells successful the first time. Happy Homeschooling!
