Letter 12356

Which household liquid will clean copper penny the best

++ Ok I am doing a science fair project on which household liquid will clean a copper penny the best, and vinegar was the best, but I also need to do a research paper and need info. So I was wondering if you could help me? PLEASE!!!!!!! Jenna S. - Nashville, TN ++ Hi, Jenna. Please see our FAQ: What Cleans Pennies Best, and I think you'll find what you need. Good luck. Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey   ++ It sounds to me like you have all the info needed. Simply sit down and write out what you observed. Have you looked up the chemical composition of vinegar? Have you looked up the chemical name of vinegar. Do you know the basic (or acidic) condition of vinegar. Do this with all of your test solutions and then put the data into your paper. Dan Brewer - Gurnee, IL ++ Try putting the copper penny into different solutions, such as bleach (diluted before use!), citric acid, acetic acid (vinegar), different citrus fruit juices and any other liquids you may find. Ask your mother or father for some help in getting different ones; go to the hardware store and see if they have any liquids for cleaning copper or brass.

[Depending on what grade you are in] Try hydrochloric acid, but be very careful with this as it is very strong; similarly, try sulphuric acid and nitric acid, but again these are very strong and should be handled with great care.

Other solutions could be coca cola/ pepsi cola, other fizzy drinks, beer (!), cider(!) etc; also try tartaric acid (as used in cooking) and any other possible acids found in cooking. If you can get some rhubarb, cook it up with some water to extract its juices and try that (you can also eat the rhubarb afterwards if you want!, but do not eat the leaves.) Cook up some cabbage (ugh) and try the water after cooking. Will straight tap water do the job? See if sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate have any effect. Compare the difference between the cleaning solutions and also compare them after you have added a few drops (literally 1 or 2 drops) of washing up liquid. Try different concentrations of possible solutions by diluting them with water. See what happens at different temperatures; does the copper clean faster or slower?. Does leaving the experiment in bright daylight have any effect? Do you get any gases coming off the metal?

Science is fun and to enjoy it, you MUST DO the experiments. The important thing about science is that you OBSERVE what is going on. Note everything that happens, no matter how trivial. Once you have got the results of the experiments, trying to understand the results can be the difficult bit! Trevor Crichton R&D practical scientist - UK +++ Jenny, When I did this project myself I found out that TacoBell hot and mild sauce worked better then vinegar! The next time you go there ask for a few packets of both mild and hotsauce to try the experiment against vinegar. To do this project against each other time them different time limits and see if it works for you like it did for me. Gianna M. - Victorville, CA, United States Ed. note: This YouTube video may be informative and amusing depending on your grade level --