pennium lab

part one

procedures:
1. obtain a packet of pennies
2.sort the pennies into two groups
3.measure the mass of each stack of pennies in each stack
4. measure the mass of half dollars, quarter, nickel and dimes. record these values in a data table
5.answer the questions below and then continue with part 2

questions:
1.does each penny have the same mass?
2. can you identify two "penny isotopes" based on masses of the pennies?
3. what does your data tell you about the relationship between mass of penny and date of a penny

part two

procedures

1.determine the average mass of pre-1982 pennies

2.determine the average of mass of post-1982 pennies

3.determine the the % of your pennies the is pre and post

4.choose one of your coins to make a SMU. use the mass of the nickle to calculate the mass of half dollar, quarter dime and penny.

5.determine the average mass of penny in CMU using % abundance of each penny isotope.

questions and conclusions

1.make a statement about your average penny mass

2.explain how you derived the unit CMU

3.using the idea you explained in #2 above, how did scientist obtain the atomic mass unit 

4.what is your weight in CUM?

5. write a statement that compares what you did in this lab to what scientist have done to find the average atomic masses of the elements