Published on Sep 28, 2024
The objective: To determine whether diferent samples of metals and minerals have iron, copper or lead in them.
There were eleven samples used in my project, each tested several times with an acidic solution. My three solutions were potassium ferricyanide, potassium ferrocyanide and potassium chromate.
I first consulted a chemistry teacher at College of the Redwoods, then obtained a research approval certificate. Iron, copper and lead were my three main samples, my other samples consisted of metals which I tested for iron, copper and lead.
Iron pyrite and galena showed signs of iron. Glacial formed copper and magnetite showed signs of copper. The nickel I tested showed signs of both iron and copper, it also showed signs of an unknown substance. Magnetite was the only sample that showed any signs of lead.
Overall I think this was a successful project. I feel that I learned a lot throughout this experiment. It was very interesting to see that after testing the nickel I could see the shape of the building on the filter paper.
However not very many of the statements that I made in my hypothesis turned out to be true. For example, I though lead would be green whereas, it turned out to be yellow. I also learned about how electrographic metal detection is used in forensic science.
A classic example of the forensic use of electrography was the investigation of a crime during which a cooper wire had been severed. Electrographic analysis revealed traces of copper on a hatchet in a suspect's possesion.
This project is about testing metals and minerals for iron , copper and lead.