A Silver-Cleaning Battery
Summary
Areas of Science
Difficulty
Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Safety
Adult supervision required.
Credits
*Note:
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Abstract
You can take advantage of electrochemistry and make a battery to clean tarnished silverware without scrubbing. You should learn about how batteries work and study oxidation-reduction reactions so that you can explain how this process works. You'll need a pan large enough to hold the pieces of silverware, and deep enough to cover them in solution while boiling gently. Line the pan with aluminum foil, and place the silverware inside the pan, making sure that each piece touches the foil. Add water to cover the silverware, then add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of baking soda for each liter of water in the pan. Heat the pan on the stove until the water boils, then reduce the heat so that it boils gently. The tarnish (silver sulfide) gradually dissolves, producing silver (Ag+) and sulfide (S2−) ions in solution. Electrons are transferred from aluminum atoms (Al) to the silver ions, producing silver atoms (Ag) and aluminum ions (Al3+). The silverware is functioning as the positive pole of the battery, and the aluminum as the negative pole. The silver atoms plate out of solution on the silverware, and the sulfide ions form insoluble sulfides with various positive ions in the solution. What is common to all batteries? How do batteries differ? With help from an adult, design and build a battery and prove that it works by lighting a flashlight bulb or powering a small electric motor.
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Careers
If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers:
Career Profile
Chemical engineers solve the problems that affect our everyday lives by applying the principles of chemistry. If you enjoy working in a chemistry laboratory and are interested in developing useful products for people, then a career as a chemical engineer might be in your future.
Career Profile
Just as a potter forms clay, or a steel worker molds molten steel, electrical and electronics engineers gather and shape electricity and use it to make products that transmit power or transmit information. Electrical and electronics engineers may specialize in one of the millions of products that make or use electricity, like cell phones, electric motors, microwaves, medical instruments, airline navigation system, or handheld games.
Career Profile
Electrical engineering technicians help design, test, and manufacture electrical and electronic equipment. These people are part of the team of engineers and research scientists that keep our high-tech world going and moving forward.
Related Links
- Science Fair Project Guide
- Other Ideas Like This
- Chemistry Project Ideas
- My Favorites
- Chemistry Safety Guide
Cite This Page
General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.MLA Style
Science Buddies Staff.
"A Silver-Cleaning Battery." Science Buddies,
20 Nov. 2020,
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Chem_p029/chemistry/a-silver-cleaning-battery.
Accessed 18 May 2022.
APA Style
Science Buddies Staff.
(2020, November 20).
A Silver-Cleaning Battery.
Retrieved from
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Chem_p029/chemistry/a-silver-cleaning-battery
Last edit date: 2020-11-20
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