We all know that fizzy drinks are not good for health. But most kids love them. Is there a way to keep the kids away from soda and similar drinks? Show them a live demonstration of the corrosive effect of soda. If you have a few old pennies, you are ready for this science project with soda and penny.
Project Question
- What change will happen if dull and colorless coins are dipped in different types of fizzy drinks?
- Is the rate of change same for all types of drinks?
What we need
Penny (Copper coins) – 4 to 5 (dull and old)
Pepsi – 1 can
7 Up – 1 can
Coca Cola – 1 can
Lemonade – 1 glass
Flat bottomed container – 4
Procedure
- Fill the containers with Pepsi, Coca Cola, 7 Up, and lemonade respectively.
- Put one coin each in all the containers.
- Carefully note down the appearance of all the coins. Take a photograph if needed.
- Allow the coins to bathe in the drinks for the whole day.
- In the evening, flip the coins over so that the other side comes in contact with the drink. Leave them in the drinks overnight.
- In the morning, take out the coins and examine them. Note down the observations.
- What is your finding? You will observe that the some of the dull and colorless coins are shining bright.
Explanation
What exactly happened in this science project with soda and penny? The coins bathed in different drinks and got back their old shine. Some chemistry principles are at work here. Pennies are made of copper, which reacts with the oxygen in the air. This reaction caused a layer of copper oxide to form on the surface of the coins over a period of time. As a result, the coins lost their shine and looked dull.
Fizzy drinks are acidic in nature. They contain acids such as phosphoric acid, citric acid, or carbonic acid. When the dull coin is dipped in the drink, the acid in the drink reacts with the copper oxide over the coin. When dipped for a considerable amount of time, the copper oxide slowly dissolves and the coin gets back the shine.
The extent to which copper oxide dissolves will depend on the acidic value of the drink. Does the effect remain same in all drinks? Try and find out which drink is more acidic. If a coin can be affected by soda, then our guts are not totally safe when we take these fizzy drinks. Are they?
If you found this project interesting, you may like to read our Projects section.
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