Hey there! Squeaks and I were out for a walk, and guess what? Squeaks found a bunch of lucky pennies for his collection. Some of them are shiny, but others are a bit dull and grimy. We thought it would be fun to try and clean them up with a little experiment!
If you want to join us in this experiment, here’s what you’ll need:
Here’s how to set up your experiment:
Before we start, let’s guess which cleaner will work best. Squeaks thinks soap and water will do the trick. I think vinegar and salt will work best because some cleaning solutions use vinegar. What do you think?
Now, let’s put the pennies in the cups and wait for five minutes. After that, we’ll rinse them off and see what happened!
Here’s what we found:
Pennies are made of copper, and over time, they get a dark coating called copper oxide. To make them shiny again, we need to dissolve this coating. Acids are great at doing this, and all the cleaners that worked well were acidic.
Acidic things taste sour, like lemons and vinegar. Vinegar with salt becomes an even stronger acid, which is why it cleaned the penny so fast. Ketchup has vinegar, salt, and tomatoes, which are also acidic. Cola has acidic ingredients too, which is why it cleaned the penny.
Soap and water aren’t very acidic, so they didn’t clean the penny well.
You can try this experiment at home with different liquids like juices, coffee, or tea. You’ll end up with lots of shiny pennies for your collection!
Thanks for joining us in this fun experiment. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. See you next time!
Penny Observation Journal: Start a penny observation journal! Collect a few more dull pennies and try cleaning them with different liquids you find at home, like orange juice or milk. Before you start, draw a picture of each penny in your journal and write down your guess about which liquid will make it the shiniest. After cleaning, draw the penny again and compare the results. Did anything surprise you?
Acidic Taste Test: With the help of a grown-up, gather some foods and drinks that are acidic, like lemon slices, vinegar, and orange juice. Taste a tiny bit of each and notice the sour flavor. Discuss with your grown-up why you think these foods might be good at cleaning pennies. Can you think of any other foods that might be acidic?
Shiny Penny Hunt: Go on a hunt around your house or neighborhood to find other objects that are made of copper or metal. Look for things like coins, jewelry, or kitchen utensils. With permission, try cleaning them using one of the methods from the experiment. Write down or draw what you find and how shiny you can make them!
