What do you get when you add nitric acid to copper?

(Although since 1983, pennies are actually made of zinc surrounded by a paper-thin copper foil to give them the traditional appearance of pennies.) Copper is ... I put one of them on the table, opened the bottle marked nitric acid, poured some of the liquid on the copper and prepared to make an observation. read more

On reacting copper with concentrated nitric acid, copper (II) nitrate, nitrogen dioxide gas and water is formed. Equation: Cu(s) + 4HNO3(conc)(l) → Cu(NO3)2(s) + 2NO2(g) + 2H2O(l). Treating it with dilute nitric acid, copper (II) nitrate, nitric oxide gas and water is formed. Equation: 3Cu(s) + 8HNO3(dil)(l) → 3Cu(NO3)2(s) + 2NO(g) + 4H2O(l). read more

In dilute nitric acid, the reaction produces nitric oxide, NO, instead: 3Cu(s) + 8HNO 3 (aq) ——> 3Cu(NO 3) 2 (aq) + 2NO(g) + 4H 2 O(l) In the following demonstration, a balled-up piece of thin copper wire is added to about 100 mL of concentrated nitric acid; once the copper is added the evolution of nitrogen dioxide occurs quickly. read more

Copper is oxidized by concentrated nitric acid, HN3,the result is that it produces Cu2+ions, the nitric acid is reduced to nitrogen dioxide, a poisonous brown gas with an irritating odor.When the copper is first oxidized, the solution is very concentrated, and the Cu2+ product is initially coordinated to nitrate ions from the nitric acid, giving the solution first a green, and then a greenish-brownish color. read more