What do you use to clean coins?
For this experiment, we used several solutions that could clean our coins. We used baking soda and water, vinegar, soap and water, ketchup, and orange juice. We let our coins sit for about 2 hours as we ran errands. I also setup a mini baking soda vinegar surprise experiment where I hid in a few drops of food coloring.
After the coins sat long enough in the solutions, we simply cleaned with water and laid them out to analyze. Both boys seem to agree that baking soda and water cleaned and shined their coins the best.
We did a little coin counting afterward because you know, we have to add in a little math 😏.
Have you tried this experiment yet? How did it go?
Materials:
Ice cube tray (2)
5 cups to hold each solution: Orange Juice, Vinegar, Ketchup, Baking Soda & Water, Vinegar, Soap & Water
5 coins of each (5 pennies, 5 nickels, 5 dimes, 5 quarters) and few extra for the “control”.
Directions:
- Gather all of your coins and lay neatly. Analyze how each looks. Have a few extra for the control to compare to later.
- Put all the pennies in the first row, nickels in the second, dimes in the third, and quarters in the fourth row.
- For each column starting with the first, add in baking soda and water to the penny, nickel, dime and quarter. Do the same for each set of 4 coins in a column- Second column add in vinegar; Third column add in soap and water; Fourth column add in ketchup; and the fifth column add in orange juice.
- Let the solution sit for at least 30 minutes.
- Rinse with a clean bowl of water and set on a paper towel.
- Compare the coins to the control and conclude which solution cleans the coins best.
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*Adult Supervision Is Required For All Activities*