We’re going to do the penny lab today. This is called “Striking it Rich!” It’s also called “The Alchemists’ Dream.” Savannah Church is going to help me do this lab and make sure everybody does it safely. The first thing you’re gonna do is clean your pennies. So, you got your pennies? Go ahead and lay them out here. What I’ve got is the scratchy pad... Can you show us the scratchy pad?... and you’re going to clean them with the vinegar. See how this is kind of dull? The shinier you can make it, the better it’s gonna work. Any penny that was made before 1984 might react a little bit differently, than pennies made after 2010 because they changed the way they make them Like in 1984 they changed them, and then in 2010, they changed them again. So, that’s why. We’re going to clean them and then we’ll get the best results, the shiniest you can get them. Right? Ok. Ok so your next step is to take your clean pennies and put them in the solution. You have three pennies we’re gonna leave one of them out, so we remember what a normal penny looks like right? So that’s what we call your control that we compare all your pennies to. It’s just a normal penny. Then we’re gonna take these two pennies and drop them into the solution, ok? Here’s what I need you to understand about this solution. It is HOT CONCENTRATED sodium hydroxide. If that vapor gets on your skin, it could cause severe irritation or even a chemical burn, so you’re going to wear long sleeves when you do this. See, here’s my long sleeve it’s covering all the way down to my wrist, and if it starts to itch on my hands, I’m going to go wash them immediately until it stops itching. But DON’T scratch! If you scratch it, you could work the chemical into your skin, so don’t do that! Then, once you have your pennies in put the lid on so that the vapor doesn’t just escape, ok? So when your pennies have been in there for a few minutes, you can take them out using the tongs. Sometimes they’re hard to see. You might have to fish around, but you’ll just use the tongs to grab your pennies out and put them on your paper towel to pat them dry... oh wait, I lied. Don’t do that! You need water to dip them in first and then put them on the paper towel because we have to get that chemical off first, so rinse them in the water and then put them on your paper towel. But if there is any of this stuff, this zinc powder, that’s stuck to your pennies, it’s important to know that when zinc powder comes in contact with water, it can spontaneously combust. So you’ll put this in the water. Since there’s no fuel in there, it’s not going to catch on fire until you put it on the paper towel. Then you have a fuel and the energy for the combustion to take place. Can you show us this can? This is not really ketchup! This is a trash can so that when the paper towels catch on fire... notice I said “when,” not “if” When the paper towels catch on fire, they’re going to be contained in something that doesn’t melt and our hood will suck up the smoke, ok? This is probably the most dangerous lab you’ve ever done, but it’s one of the most interesting! Are you ready to do this? Sure! Alright, that’s it! Thanks! Ok, the final step of your penny lab is to pass your zinc-coated penny through the fire. You’re going to hold it on the edge... can you zoom in on the tongs?... So hold it by the edges with the tongs and then pass it VERTICALLY through the fire and don’t hold it in there for long, or you’ll burn it! So we just want to pass it back and forth until something changes. So, that’s it for the penny lab! It’s pretty simple. Should we wait until we see the results? Go ahead and keep going. Somethings, changing, huh? Looks good to me, Sebastian. Ok, so can you set it on the paper, next to the other pennies? Alright! So there’s our three pennies after the penny lab. That’s all there is to it! Be careful and if you have any questions, ask your teacher!