What Is A Chemical Change
A Chemical change is any change that results in the formation of a new chemical substance. It is something that everyone learns about in school, but never really tries to see it in the real world. We all know the basic examples; baking a cake, burning wood… etc. What about the examples that are happening around us. For example, the Statue of Liberty has been through a chemical change. It was first a dull brown color, and now it is a green color. That happened due to a chemical change.
During the Revolutionary War America and France became close friends since the people of France were seeking freedom. So, to honor that friendship France gave the U.S. a gift. It was a sculptor’s statue which was called Liberty Enlightening the World. Where the
statue stand is Bedloe’s Island, which was renamed Liberty Island in 1956. When the statue first came to the U.S. it was a dull brown color, due to its copper plates. But, over the next 30 years, it gradually became the green color we all see today. “The 151-foot tall statue has become a worldwide symbol of freedom and democracy.”
What was the reason for the changing of colors on the Statue of Liberty? Was it some sort of magic? As it turns out it was not magic, but a natural weathering process which is what we call oxidation. Oxidation took place when air and water reacted with the copper plates. Over time the weather of copper created a thin layer of copper carbonate called a patina. The patina protects the underneath copper from further corrosion.
After doing this assignment and reading the essay, I have learned some new and interesting facts about the Statue of Liberty. For one I discovered that the statue was actually sent over from France in pieces, and then assembled in America. Another little fact I found was that Gustave Eiffel’s design made it to where the Statue of Liberty could move along with the changes in temperature and wind speed. Also, I learned that the outer layer of it is only 3/32 of an inch thick, which is the thickness of 2 pennies put together. Lastly, I learned that the statue represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom.
During the Revolutionary War America and France became close friends since the people of France were seeking freedom. So, to honor that friendship France gave the U.S. a gift. It was a sculptor’s statue which was called Liberty Enlightening the World. Where the
statue stand is Bedloe’s Island, which was renamed Liberty Island in 1956. When the statue first came to the U.S. it was a dull brown color, due to its copper plates. But, over the next 30 years, it gradually became the green color we all see today. “The 151-foot tall statue has become a worldwide symbol of freedom and democracy.”
What was the reason for the changing of colors on the Statue of Liberty? Was it some sort of magic? As it turns out it was not magic, but a natural weathering process which is what we call oxidation. Oxidation took place when air and water reacted with the copper plates. Over time the weather of copper created a thin layer of copper carbonate called a patina. The patina protects the underneath copper from further corrosion.
After doing this assignment and reading the essay, I have learned some new and interesting facts about the Statue of Liberty. For one I discovered that the statue was actually sent over from France in pieces, and then assembled in America. Another little fact I found was that Gustave Eiffel’s design made it to where the Statue of Liberty could move along with the changes in temperature and wind speed. Also, I learned that the outer layer of it is only 3/32 of an inch thick, which is the thickness of 2 pennies put together. Lastly, I learned that the statue represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom.