Australia's Science Forum

Hi Guys. Can anyone suggest an alternative to Ammonium Nitrate solution for the old Copper Mesh to Copper Plate experiment - titled "Observing Copper Ions"? As far as I know, Ammonium Nitrate is now a not-for-schools substance. Ah, the fun-suckers have a lot to answer for! Naturally this is for an experiment this week, albeit in 2 days time.

Cheers, K

You can still use Ammonium Nitrate, if you have any. You can not BUY it any more, with out a License, which the DET will not go ahead with. So You need to ask around who may have some to give you or swap with some thing else. It will end up helping each other with items.

You would think if they banned a substance they would change the curriculum and create a new prac! I just tried to purchase Ammonium nitrate, having forgotten it is no longer available. This was discussed last year and potassium nitrate was suggested for the endothermic prac. I don't know if it will work for the copper one though.

hi
for junior classes we did simple one: dipping old pennies (1955) in vinegar together with iron nails (paper clip will do)
for seniors see if anything is helpfull on this web
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~chem122/Lab ... /index.pdf

I do believe it will be banned soon, and the curriculum is changing yet again.

Hi All,

Coming from my own personal experiences and qualifications (and keeping within the the school science area so I don't look at it from "outside the square") I do believe the banning of Ammonium Nitrate has gone a little to far....

Ammonium Nitrate has been an excellent reagent for many experiments and reactions (excluding the explosive types) which give great results. Sure there are alternatives but you will find that they are not as good as the real thing.

I have voiced my opinion to staff in district office, but this I think has fallen onto deaf ears..

Hmm.. I am bitterly dissapointed at the stage of things regarding some chemical reagents.. As I am sure most of you are..

Cheers,

Robb.....

Fully agree Robb, they are bigger Be's them us.

I also add my voice - this is an overkill!! with care many chemicals and experiments can still be used in schools... will they eventually make us all redundant and replace pracs with virtual ones???

I bet they do that ONE day,

I know when I worked in our nation's capital that the prescribed limit to how much NaOH was permitted per child was not that much, and yet anybody could cross the road and buy a whole tub of it from Coles! I mean, how much can we blow up with 500g of Ammonium Nitrate anyway? Dry ice is more fun and the residue evaporates!

Then again, we could always live in countries with no rules. When I lived in PNG you could buy little lead tubes of resourcinol. The kiddies used to bite the tops off the tubes, and then blow bubbles with the stuff! Oh well.

Cheers, K