Today in lab, we analyzed American coins to determine the copper concentration within them. We used a device called a spectrophotmeter which is extremely accurate and measures things in terms of absorption. We created four standard solutions using a copper sulphate hydrate and then graphed a standard curve. Then we dissolved coins with highly concentrated nitric acid and analyzed the reminants for their copper content using the machine, then plotted them using horizontal lines on our standard graph giving us our amounts of copper within each coin. It was pretty cool. Pictured are the four standard solution and Jessica Trudeau standing behind them.