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What makes pennies turn green?

Updated: 8/11/2023
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16y ago

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Oxygen reacts with the copper in the penny, the copper oxidizes and it turns green. The Statue of Liberty is made of copper. Over the century, it reacted with oxygen and turned green. This is a chemical change.

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15y ago
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Anonymous

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3y ago
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17y ago

The property of copper that can account for the blue or green discoloration of pennies is its chemical reactivity: the tendency of copper to combine chemically with constituents of the atmosphere (including pollutants) together with moisture. The chemical changes degrading the copper in useful objects is referred to as "corrosion". Many corrosion products of copper are colored blue to green. These include the green cuprous and cupric chlorides, the green carbonate (malachite), the blue carbonate (azurite), and blue sulfate.

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14y ago

If you treat a copper penny with Ammonia it will turn Blue. The ammonia that I am referring to is common household ammonia which is Ammonium hydroxide. This is this chemical formula:

NH3 + H2O NH4+ + OH-.

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16y ago

The copper metal it contains oxidizes or tarnishes the metal.

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14y ago

Carbon dioxide in the air...

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Related questions

If the green color of the copper coating that covers the statue of liberty is different from the color of a typical copper penny what caused the statue of liberty copper coating to turn green?

Acid in the rain reacted with the copper to turn it green. That is why there is sometimes green on pennies. Acid in the rain reacted with the copper to turn it green. That is why there is sometimes green on pennies. Acid in the rain reacted with the copper to turn it green. That is why there is sometimes green on pennies. Acid in the rain reacted with the copper to turn it green. That is why there is sometimes green on pennies.


How can a green penny turn green?

Pennies are made, or at least coated, with Copper and that copper can oxidize and turn green. Newer pennies have an alloy metal that is supposed to reduce this chemical action.


Why do penny turn green?

The pennies turn green because they are open to the air, because they contain copper, and because copper turns green when oxidized.


What is the hypothesis of green pennies?

There is no well-known "Green-penny hypothesis" as far as I can tell. I suppose some student every so often creates their own hypothesis about why pennies turn green, but they are certainly not well-known, or even slightly-known.


Is a copper penny turning green a chemical change?

You can also turn pennies and some other coins green by letting them sit overnight in a paper towel soaked in vinegar. and if you want to clan pennies to shine, put them in a cup of vinegar and salt dissolved. (I once tried cleaning them with a pinch of kosher salt instead and it dug a hole through the penny! -NOT RECOMENDED!!!)


What makes fish tanks turn green?

Algae.


What makes a leaf turn green?

The chlorophyll in the plant.


What std makes your penis shrivel and turn green?

Gangrene.


Does chloroplast turn the plant green?

Chloroplast has the photosynthetic pigments chlorophyll.Chlorophyll makes plant green.


How does nickel turn carbonate green?

it is the nickel that makes the nickel carbonate green


What is 50000 pennies worth in money?

At 100 pennies to the dollar, 50,000 pennies makes $500.


Do alkalis make a universal indicator turn green?

The alkali makes a universal indicator turn blue.