so we did a lab in chemistry where we changed copper pennies to "silver" & "gold" pennies.

we had to record the initial masses of the pennies before we turned them silver and record the final masses of the pennies when they were gold. I ended up with both my initial and final masses being exactly the same but my teacher said my final mass should be more than my initial mass.

can someone tell me why i ended up with the same masses?

Question

so we did a lab in chemistry where we changed copper pennies to "silver" & "gold" pennies. 

we had to record the initial masses of the pennies before we turned them silver and record the final masses of the pennies when they were gold. I ended up with both my initial and final masses being exactly the same but my teacher said my final mass should be more than my initial mass.

can someone tell me why i ended up with the same masses?

.sam. · Answer

How do you turn them into silver and gold? Electroplating?

.sam. · Answer

If it's electroplating, the silver and gold you see in the lab is actually just the surface of it, the thickness are typically less than 0.1 micrometer thick. So, you won't get a huge difference in mass.

anonymous · Answer

we did a lab in chemistry where we changed copper pennies to "silver" and "gold" pennies. First we mixed zinc with a beaker of sodium hydroxide.Then we put the bunson burner under it. After that we put the pennies in and left them there for about a minute. Then you drop t hem in water and you clean them and you have your silver penny. THen take another silver penny and put it into the bunson burner flame and it will turn gold.

jfraser · Answer

the "silver" penny should weigh more than the copper penny, because you're coating it with zinc. The "gold" penny should weigh the same as the "silver" penny because you're making an alloy of brass