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Hello everyone, I am in a chemistry class with very impresice instruments. We each need to identify a mystery _meta_l, and I think mine is copper. My _meta_l is reddish and dull, its density is about 7-9 g/ml, and it does not melt or soften over a bunsen burner. WHAT ELEMENT COULD THIS BE? WHAT CHEMICAL TESTS SHOULD I RUN TO CONFIRM THAT IT IS COPPER? WHAT ACIDS ATTACK COPPER? Thanks for your help, B.W.

My _meta_l is reddish and dull, its density is about 7-9 g/ml, and it does not melt or soften over a bunsen burner. WHAT ELEMENT COULD THIS BE? WHAT CHEMICAL TESTS SHOULD I RUN TO CONFIRM THAT IT IS COPPER? WHAT ACIDS ATTACK COPPER? Funny you should ask.  See the thread on etching printed circuit boards in this NG. Nitric acid attacks copper (and most other _meta_ls as well). Steve Turner

Hello everyone, I am in a chemistry class with very impresice instruments. We each need to identify a mystery _meta_l, and I think mine is copper. My _meta_l is reddish and dull, its density is about 7-9 g/ml, and it does not melt or soften over a bunsen burner. WHAT ELEMENT COULD THIS BE? WHAT CHEMICAL TESTS SHOULD I RUN TO CONFIRM THAT IT IS COPPER? WHAT ACIDS ATTACK COPPER? Thanks for your help, B.W. You did not say at what level your class was. From your de_script_ion, my guess would be high school. You should be able to determine density with more accuracy. You could use the law of Dulong & Petit to get a handle of its atomic weight. You could try seeing if you could melt known copper (annealled copper) in the same flame. There are all kinds of things you can do. Carry out a borax bead test. Look in a book for field minerology and how streak tests etc are carried out. Dissolve some in nitric acid. Then neutalized the solution with ammonia and look at the color change when you go from acid to _base_. You have barely scratched the surface. Bill

My _meta_l is reddish and dull, its density is about 7-9 g/ml, and it does not melt or soften over a bunsen burner. WHAT ELEMENT COULD THIS BE? WHAT CHEMICAL TESTS SHOULD I RUN TO CONFIRM THAT IT IS COPPER? WHAT ACIDS ATTACK COPPER? Funny you should ask.  See the thread on etching printed circuit boards in this NG. Nitric acid attacks copper (and most other _meta_ls as well). Steve Turner You can do a simple flame test, dip the _meta_l or wire in nitric or hydrochloric acid( HCl doesn't attack it)  and introduce it into the burner flame, if the flame becomes beautiful green, it is indeed copper, assuming that a pure _meta_l piece is given to you. OR if your concentrated nitric acid(IN A HOOD) becomes deep blue with the unknown in few minutes, you can say that it is copper. As far as I remember barium also renders the flame green, but it is silvery white and very reactive. Google flame tests for copper.

Hello everyone, I am in a chemistry class with very impresice instruments. We each need to identify a mystery _meta_l, and I think mine is copper. My _meta_l is reddish and dull, its density is about 7-9 g/ml, and it does not melt or soften over a bunsen burner. WHAT ELEMENT COULD THIS BE? WHAT CHEMICAL TESTS SHOULD I RUN TO CONFIRM THAT IT IS COPPER? WHAT ACIDS ATTACK COPPER? Thanks for your help, B.W. I strongly suspect that you are supposed to have learned answers to questions like what acid dissolves copper, or have learned how to find out. Instead of applying what you (hopefully) have learned, you want others to do it for you.

You can do a simple flame test, dip the _meta_l or wire in nitric or hydrochloric acid( HCl doesn't attack it)   The blue/green flame is caused by copper and chlorine. It won't happen if it is dipped in nitric acid. A safer test which avoids the use of acids would be to dip it in salt water.  The end result (blue/green flame) is the same. Better still...  how many _meta_ls show any hint of red? Gold and copper are the only two I know of. And you know the teacher isn't going to give him gold. You can dissolve it in nitric acid and observe the color. It should be a blue solution.   The red could be caused by a coating of rust on steel. Is it magnetic? What sort of tests are you allowed to do to determine the type of _meta_l? Dave