A penny enlarged on an iPAD for viewing and the 4 pennies removed from sodas.
Activity

Penny Destroyer

Mike, a student at Texas School for the Blind, tested which soda would shine a penny more.

This science project was done by Mike, who is a student at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI).

Question

Which soda will shine a penny more?  

Materials

Procedure

  1. Label each of the 4 cups with a Sharpie marker. Assign a cup for each soda.
  2. Measure 100 mL of each soda and pour into respective cups.
  3. Rinse out each measuring cup between sodas.
  4. Drop a penny in each cup.
  5. Every 24 hours for a period of 3 days, observe and record the appearance of the pennies. You may need to take the penny out to look at.(Put them back after observations).
  6. Record any changes in color of the soda according to the following scale:
  1. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for 3 days.

 

The image is of the 4 soda cups labeled.
4 cups labeled with each type of soda

Results

Tarnish removal scale:

1.  A lot shinier

2.  A little shinier

3.  No difference

4.  Actually got darker

Removal of Tarnish

Soda             

 Tarnish Removal  (See scale)
  Coke         1
  Sprite2
  Dr. Pepper2
  Mountain Dew                                     3                                      

 

Penny experiment with iPad
Penny experiment using an iPad to enlarge the view of the penny

Conclusion

My hypothesis was correct.  The Coke shined the pennies most.

NGSS Standards:

By Laura Hospitál

collage of which soda best removes varnish from a penny

Return to Accessible Science main page.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Photo of Kate explaining the tactile telescope model to a high school student.
Guide

Accessible astronomy: Tactile telescope

EPIQ logo
Event

EPIQ (Experience Programming in Quorum) 2024

Solar eclipse diagram with the moon between the sun and earth.
Activity

Break the Braille code: Solar eclipse resource