Shiny Pennies
PREP TIME: 2 MINUTES
EXPERIMENT DURATION: OVERNIGHT
Supplies Needed:
3 cups
1 lemon
Dark soda
Water
3 pennies made before 1983
Science Question:
Can you make a penny look new again?
Pennies made before 1983 are made of mostly copper, which turns dull with age. Using the juice of a lemon, or a dark soda, you can make a penny look new again.
The Experiment:
Line up the cups. Pour the juice of the lemon into one of your cups, pour soda in another and the fill the last with tap water. Drop a penny into each of cup and let it sit overnight.
In the morning, pull your pennies out of the liquid.
The Outcome:
The pennies that were in the soda and the lemon juice will be shiny, but the penny that was in water will still be dull.
Why It Worked:
SlThe liquids work as a cleaner, and easily take the gunk and grime off an old penny.
Variation:
• What happens if you try to clean a nickel, dime or quarter?
Did You Know?
Pennies used to be made entirely of copper, but they stopped using it when the amount of copper in a penny started to be worth more than the penny itself!
The 101 coolest Simple Science Experiments by Rachel Miller, Holly Homer & Jamie Harrington
