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Removing the zinc from an iron galvanized nail

Q. I have a question involving how to remove Zinc from a galvanized Iron nail. I'm not exactly sure what solution or process I should use. What solutions do you think would dissolve the Zinc? (I have to find out how many moles of Zinc and Iron there are in one galvanized nail).

Thank you so very much for your time!

I need this answer as soon as possible!

Rachel N [surname deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Beltsville, Maryland

A. HCl

Tj Gaydos
- Uniontown, Ohio

A. It is about 2.3 grams.

Al Ron Johnson
- Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States

"Hands-on" learning is fun, maybe try a ...
Precision Electronic Scale
electronic_scale
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(affil link)

A. Hi Rachel.

Tj is right that HCl (hydrochloric acid) will rapidly dissolve the zinc while not rapidly doing much to the iron. So you can dry and weigh the nail before the experiment, then put it in the HCl until the fizzing stops, rinse it well, dry it, and re-weigh it. The difference is the weight of zinc that was on the nail.

HCl is a hazardous chemical, so you should be doing this under the supervision of the science teacher, while wearing goggles ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and rubber gloves ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] .

Good luck. Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
December 20, 2012

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