Alloys

Aim: Turing a copper coin into silver and gold

Method:
1) Clean the copper coin with the wire wool
2) Add five grams of zinc powder into the water ( Now you have made the solution)
3) Now turn on the bunsen burner to boil the solution
4) Once the solutions are boiling then add the copper coin 
5) Once the copper coin turns silver lift it out the glass beaker
6) Now put the silver coin in some water to cool down
7) Take the coin out of the water and dab it dry with a tissue
8) Now take the coin using the beaker tongs and put it on the flame of the bunsen burner 
9)  flipping it occasionally

Equipment: Wire wool, Five grams of zinc powder,  beaker, Bunsen burner, gauze mat, tripod, tissue, beaker tongs. 

This experiment turned out great this is what my coin turned out like:

Fact: It's not actually silver or gold, Its a zinc and brass layering it just looks like silver and gold. 


What is an Alloy: An alloy is a metal that is combined with a mixture of two or more elements

Alloys

An alloy is a mixture of two or more elements, one or more of which is a metal. Alloys often have properties that are different from the metals they contain. This makes them more useful than pure metals alone. For example, alloys are often harder than the metal they contain. Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is used to make many things such as cars, ships, bridges, and building frames. Steel is harder, stronger and more flexible than iron and doesn't corrode (rust) as quickly as iron.

Recent advances in technology have created a new range of alloys- called smart alloys. Smart alloys have unusual properties. Nitinol is an alloy of nickel and titanium and is known as a shape memory alloy. If nitinol is bent out of shape, it returns to its original shape when it is earlier heated or an electric current is passed through it.