Make A Penny Turn Green

Hi guys! The boys and I have been learning all about Quebec which is the largest province in Canada. One famous building in Quebec City is The Chateau Frontenac.

Source

The Chateau Frontenac is a grand hotel in Quebec City. It was designed by American architect Bruce Price. The roof of the building is noticeably green in color. So we did a little experiment to investigate how and why this occurred.

Material:

• Penny
• Paper Towel
• Vinegar
• A plate 
• Lab sheet (found at the end of this post)

We looked at our penny and talked about what color it was (brown). We also discussed that the penny is made from copper and so is the roof of The Chateau Frontenac. We placed the penny on top of the paper towel and poured some vinegar over it. We set it aside and checked on on it periodically. 

What Happened to the Penny?

The penny is made of copper. The Vinegar on the paper towel helps the penny react with the oxygen in the air. This forms a blue-green colored compound called malachite. This is similar to what happened to the roof of The Chateau, a natural weathering process called oxidization took place, when air and rain water (which contains a small amount of acid) reacted withe copper plates. We also talked about how the same thing happened to the Statue of Liberty. 

The boys recorded their findings on the lab sheet. 

Click on the image to download.

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