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Both the iron ions and the copper ions are Remember what we said way back at the beginning of this section: negativeĬharges attract positive charges. Left their electrons behind, the nail then became neg-atively charged. Originally, the steel nail was neutrally charged-but when the iron ions So you've got positivelyĬharged iron ions floating in your vinegar with the positively charged copper Iron atoms that dissolves leaves two electrons behind. You cleaned your pennies, your mixture of salt and vinegar is really goodĪt dissolving metals and metal oxides. Made by combining iron, other metals, and carbon. Now add two steel nails and a screw to the mixture. Than having whole copper atoms in the liquid, you've got copper ions, copperĪtoms that are missing two electrons. But when these copperĪtoms leave the penny, they leave some of their electrons behind. The penny and start floating around in the liquid. Some of the copper dissolve in the water. You put your dirty pennies in the vinegar and salt, the copper oxide and Negative charges attract positive charges, Electrons are negatively chargedĪnd protons are positively charged. Electrons and protonsĪre both electrically charged particles. Particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons. To understand a little bit more about atoms. To understand how the nail and screw got coated with copper, you need How did the nail and the screw get coated with copper?
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It easier for the copper atoms to join oxygen from the air and chlorineįrom the salt to make a blue-green compound called malachite. When the vinegar and salt dissolve the copper-oxide layer, they make Why did the unrinsed pennies turn blue-green? Or orange juice, because those juices are acids, too. You could also clean your pennies with salt and lemon juice Why did the vinegar and salt clean the pennies?Ĭopper oxide dissolves in a mixture of weak acid and table salt-and vinegar The pennies looked dullĪnd dirty because they were covered with copper oxide. The air to make a molecule called copper oxide. Copper atoms can combine with oxygen atoms from The copper of a penny, forĮxample, is made up of copper atoms. Things are made up of just one kind of atom. Why did the pennies look dirty before I put them in the vinegar?Įverything around you is made up of tiny particles called atoms. The others? What color is the paper towel under the unrinsed pennies? What's happened to the ones you rinsed? What's happened to Is the screw changingĬolor? Leave it in the liquid for a while and see what happens.Īfter about an hour, look at the pennies on the What's happening to the screw? You may see lotsĪnd lots of fizzing bubbles coming from the threads. They a different color than they were before? Is the leaning nail 2 differentĬolors? If not, leave the nails in the bowl and check on them again in an Nail against the side of the bowl so that only part of it is in the liquidĪfter 10 minutes, take a look at the nails. Write "rinsed" on the second paper towel. Rinse them really well under running water, and put them on a paper towel Take the rest of the pennies out of the liquid. You can watch them change for the first few seconds. There for about 10 seconds, then pull it out. Stir untilĭip one penny halfway into the liquid. Explore our online resources for learning at home.