Year 12 prac

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Purplehas
Posts: 2
Joined: 06 Nov 2018, 06:54
State/Location: NSW

silver mirror

Post by Purplehas »

Hi all,

Just wanted to know if doing the silver mirror experiment was a good idea with year 7s and year 9s? if so, what is the best best recipe?

Thanks in advance, \:D/
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Milo
Posts: 75
Joined: 31 Mar 2014, 10:16
State/Location: ACT

Re: Year 12 prac

Post by Milo »

Hi Purple, RiskAssess labels Tollens' reagent as an 11-12 only chemical, due to it being highly corrosive to skin and eyes, not to mention the potential for explosive byproducts. I would not let year 7 or 9 run this experiment, we've only ever done it with year 11.

As for a recipe, I've tried a few but usually have trouble getting it to work. Making Tollens' is finicky and requires good quality distilled water. The recipes on this forum mentioned above are a good place to start though.
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DavidPeterson
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Joined: 02 Apr 2012, 12:19
Job Title: STEM Resource & Lab Manager
School: Murray Bridge High School
Suburb: Murray Bridge
State/Location: SA

Re: Year 12 prac

Post by DavidPeterson »

I'd be more worried about younger kids getting the Silver Nitrate all over the place and staining themselves, their clothes and benchtops! (Year 12s are bad enough!)
Other than being impressive as a demonstration - As a Chemist, I don't believe the concept/theory of the reaction is relevant to any year levels below year 11.
DCP 8-)
STEM Resource @ Laboratory Manager
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DavidPeterson
Posts: 196
Joined: 02 Apr 2012, 12:19
Job Title: STEM Resource & Lab Manager
School: Murray Bridge High School
Suburb: Murray Bridge
State/Location: SA

Re: Year 12 prac

Post by DavidPeterson »

Milo wrote: 23 Sep 2019, 09:52 Hi Purple, RiskAssess labels Tollens' reagent as an 11-12 only chemical, due to it being highly corrosive to skin and eyes, not to mention the potential for explosive byproducts. I would not let year 7 or 9 run this experiment, we've only ever done it with year 11.

As for a recipe, I've tried a few but usually have trouble getting it to work. Making Tollens' is finicky and requires good quality distilled water. The recipes on this forum mentioned above are a good place to start though.
You also need to use perfectly clean or brand new glassware to get the mirror to 'stick'
DCP 8-)
STEM Resource @ Laboratory Manager
RPAS (Drone) Pilot
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