Dropping Paper and Copper into Acids
I was really curious about what would happen if you drop some paper and a weak metal (Copper) into strong acids. I only have 2 acids so that’s all I could do.
Hydrochloric acid:
Paper (A4 70 Grams) :
The paper started to fizz.
And after that, it ended and nothing happened. But the paper is mushy and soft.
Copper:
Nothing happened with the copper. So I waited for one hour, but still, nothing happened.
Nitric Acid:
Paper:
The same thing happened with the Hydrochloric acid…
Copper:
The piece of copper dissolved very quickly and created this fumes which I think is called nitrogen dioxide (because of the orange vapor). And after that, there was only a green solution left in the beaker.
I think the Hydrochloric acid is less stronger than the Nitric Acid.
Thanks for reading.
I’m sorry that this was a short post.
Danupon Drake 
Me too!!
I love science!
Yes! I was surprised how fast it was. The acid is really strong.
You’re welcome. 🙂
And never mind – that’s life! You might find time for expts during the school holidays after you move to USA. 🙂
Whoa!!! I can’t believe how fast the acid ate the copper…so cool!
Thank you for reading and commenting. I wish I had more time to do some experiments, but I can’t because I went to school 😦
Very interesting and such a great reaction of the copper with nitric acid. 🙂
I’m sure you can find the answers via google – which I just did! It reacts here because nitric acid is an oxidising agent.
Nice to see you back in the lab. 🙂