Grade 12 SCH4U
SCH4U - Unit 5 - Lab Report (AOL)
K/U /T /A /C TOTAL
/12 /12 /16 /14 /54
Specific Expectations-F2.1, F2.2, F2.5, F3.1, F3.5
INTRODUCTION:
Metals are part of our everyday lives — formed into kitchen utensils, molded into building
and vehicle parts and employed to store energy in batteries.
The physical, chemical and mechanical properties of a metal item can be changed
through a process called "electroplating," where an electric current is used to create a new
metal layer. This helps us create metal items that are resistant to abrasion and corrosion
and have increased structural strength. The Royal Canadian Mint, for example, uses
electroplating when making some of our coins.
The opposite of electroplating is "electro-etching" (sometimes called "electrochemical
machining") which involves the removal of surface metal atoms. This process is used to
manufacture parts with difficult shapes, such as turbine blades. Electro-etching is a
technique that brings chemistry and art together.
ACTIVITY: Electro-etching
VIDEO LINK-
[Link]
SAFETY:
● When you are electro-etching, make sure you're in a well-ventilated area —
outside, or near an exhaust fan.
● Don't connect multiple 9V batteries together.
● Don't submerge batteries in water.
● Don't connect the positive and negative electrodes of a battery without a load — a
bulb, for instance, or a speaker — between them.
● Be careful when you connect wires.
● Wear protective gloves when you're working with electrolyte solutions.
WHAT YOU NEED:
• Metal object (a steel water bottle, for instance, or a metal tool)
• Vinegar (¼ cup/60 mL)
• Salt (2 tsp/10 mL)
• Shallow container (for the vinegar-salt solution)
• Cotton swab (such as a Q-tip)
• 9V Battery
• Wire (from an electrical cord, for instance,or charging cables)
• Pliers
• Measuring spoon
• Measuring cup
Hobby knife (for instance, an X-acto knife)
• Water-resistant tape (such as electrical tape or duct tape)
• Clip (such as a clothes peg or a binder clip)
• Protective gloves (dish gloves, latex gloves or nitrile gloves)
• Sand paper (or steel wool or a nail file or an emery cloth or a whetstone)
• Cutting mat (or a cutting board or piece of wood)
WHAT YOU DO:
● Prepare your metal object. Lightly sand off any coating on the surface where you
want to etch. Make sure it's clean.
● Create a stencil. Put down overlapping rows of water-resistant tape on a cutting
mat,and then use your hobby knife to cut a shape. Transfer the stencil to your
metal
object.
● Prepare the electrolyte solution by mixing a quarter cup of vinegar with two
teaspoons of salt in a shallow container.
● Using scissors or pliers with a cutting blade, strip the plastic insulation from both
ends of two repurposed electrical wires. Be careful not to damage the wire.
● Connect one wire to the battery's positive terminal. Connect the other wire to the
negative terminal. Cover the terminals with electrical tape.
Note: Never connect wires without a load between them, as this will create a short
circuit that can burn you or make the battery explode.
● Connect the wire from the positive terminal to the metal object and secure the
wire with electrical tape.
● Connect the wire from the negative terminal to the end of a cotton swab
Note: Work in a well-ventilated area. Wear protective gloves.
● Dip the cotton swab in the vinegar-salt electrolyte solution. Press the swab to your
metal object, in the stencil cut-out area.
Notice the bubbling. Continue pressing until you have the amount of etching you
want.
● When you're done, let your work sit and dry. Then peel the stencil off your object
to
reveal your work of art.
ACTIVITY: Electroplating
TIME: 30 to 60 minutes
SAFETY:
● Do not dump your electroplating solution down the drain! Add some water
to dilute it,
● and then feed it to your plants.
● Wear protective gloves.
WHAT YOU NEED:
• 9V Battery
• Copper metal (for instance, scrap from a pipe or a stripped wire).
• Metal plate or object
• 6 tbsp all-purpose fertilizer containing a copper salt compound (such as
Miracle-Gro)
• 1 cup vinegar
• Measuring spoon (but not a spoon you ever use for food)
• Measuring cup
• Large plastic container (for the vinegar-fertilizer solution)
• Wire (paperclip, electrical cord or charging cord with plastic coating)
• Protective gloves (dish gloves, latex gloves or nitrile gloves)
WHAT YOU DO:
● Put on your protective gloves.
● Prepare the electrolyte solution by mixing six tablespoons of copper-containing
plant fertilizer with one cup of vinegar.
● Clean and sand your metal object. This will help you get a better metal coating.
Note: Never connect wires without a load between them, as this will create a short
circuit that can burn you or make the battery explode.
● Using scissors or pliers with a cutting blade, strip the plastic from the ends of two
wires. Be careful not to damage the wires.
● Connect one wire to the positive terminal of the battery, and the other to the
negative terminal of the battery.
● Connect the wire from the positive terminal to your piece of scrap copper.
● Connect the wire from the negative terminal to the metal object you want to
plate.
● Wearing protective gloves, dip your two metals into the electrolyte solution, but
make sure they don't touch.
● Let the reaction proceed for 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the
amount of plating you want.
● Wearing protective gloves, remove your metal object from the solution.
Disconnect the battery. Rinse and wipe your object.
● Dilute the fertilizer-vinegar solution according to the package instructions,
and
then water the acid-loving plants in your home, balcony or yard.
Electroplating a thin coating of an active metal — one that undergoes an oxidation
reaction similar to what you saw in the etching experiment — is another method of
protection. The thin outer layer of active metal is sacrificial. An example of this is
zinc on iron: the zinc will go through the oxidation reaction more quickly than the
iron, keeping the iron safe from oxidation. Galvanized nails, water heaters, water
tanks and the hulls of ships all use this process.
Electroplating has other purposes as well.
● What if you want conductivity in a plastic part? Companies coat plastics
with graphite powder or even plate them with copper to create
conductivity on plastic surfaces.
TAKING IT FURTHER:
● Make an art piece with materials you have at home. Try plating, etching or
both. Some things to consider before creating your metal masterpiece:
● What metals can be etched with acid?
● What happens if you use different concentrations of electrolyte?
● Check the fertilizer ingredients. Besides copper, what other metals could
you plate onto an object?
Prepare a lab report on any topic given above- Electro-etching or Electroplating
Discuss following points:
● Title
● Background
● Material Required
● Procedure
● Results/Discussion
● Sources
RUBRIC
Description Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Provides
I.
insightful and
Introduction-Provid
Provides some Provides comprehensive
es background
relevant relevant background
information on the
Limited background background information,
topic and/or
information information information clearly states
experiment. States
provided. but does not and clearly the purpose,
the purpose.
clearly state states the and includes a
the purpose. purpose. well-developed
(K=6 marks, T= 4
hypothesis, if
marks)
applicable.
II. Materials and
Procedures are Describes the
Methods-Lists
clear but could experimental
materials and Describes the
be more procedure in
equipment used. experimental
detailed. detail, including
Describes the Procedures are procedure in
Describes the modifications
experimental not complete. detail,
experimental made to the
procedure. Explains Limited including
procedure, but standard
how data was information on modifications
does not protocol.
collected and list of materials. made to the
explain how Explains how
recorded. standard
data was data was
protocol.
collected and collected and
(K=6 mark, T= 4
recorded. recorded.
marks, C=5 marks)
IV. Presents
Presents Presents
Results/Discussion- relevant data
incomplete or relevant data in
Presents data but may be
irrelevant data. a clear and
collected. Provides unclear or not
Does not organized Presents
clear and concise well-organized.
provide a clear manner. relevant data in
description. Provides a
or concise Provides a clear a clear and
Identifies clear and
description. and concise organized
patterns/trends. concise
Does not description. manner.
Includes description.
identify Identifies Provides a
calculations/statistic Identifies
patterns or patterns or thorough and
al analyses. some patterns
trends. Does trends. Includes insightful
or trends.
not include appropriate description.
(T= 4 marks, A=10 Includes some
calculations or calculations or
marks, C=5 marks) calculations or
statistical statistical
statistical
analyses. analyses.
analyses.
V. Summarizes
Conclusion-Summar main findings,
Summarizes
izes main findings. Does not but not
main findings
Restates summarize comprehensiv
comprehensivel
purpose/objective. main findings. ely. Restates
y. Restates
Provides final Does not purpose/object
purpose/objecti Summarizes
thoughts/recomme restate ive, but not
ve main findings
ndations based on purpose/object comprehensiv
comprehensivel comprehensive
results. ive. Does not ely. Provides
y. Provides ly and
(A=6 marks, C= 4 provide final some final
insightful final insightfully.
marks) thoughts/reco thoughts/reco
thoughts/reco
mmendations mmendations
mmendations
based on based on
based on
results. results, but not
results.
comprehensiv
ely.
