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Letter 7043
Electroplating for high school
students
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just a simple question on electroplating from a high school chem
TA. i know that a simple electrolytic cell can be set up using a
battery and a strip of copper and iron placed in solution. i wonder
if i would be able to do this on a larger scale using, say, a car
battery and plating a 12x16 sheet of iron.? perhaps you could give me
some more details so i could show the kids. it is hard for them to
see it on a small scale. thanks
kevin r. mock
- lynchburg,Va. USA
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Actually, you don't know exactly that, Mr. Mock. Because what
will happen is the copper will plate onto the steel sheet without any
application of electricity, so a really perceptive kid might not be
impressed :-)
But, yes, you can scale up the experiment described in
letter #064.
What might be a better demonstration, because it actually requires
the electricity, would be plating zinc onto copper. You can get the
zinc as 'zinc anodes' from a boating supplies store, and the copper
sheet perhaps from a hardware store or plumbing supply store. There
is no reason the experiment can't be scaled up from the description
on our FAQ, Electroplating -- How It
Works.
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Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey
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