Things You Will Need
This easy experiment is a great way to demonstrate how positive and negative charges are attracted to one another.
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Fill a large Pyrex dish with 1/2 l of distilled white vinegar.
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Place a zinc anode into the vinegar and allow it to sit for a few hours. This will give the zinc a chance to dissolve.
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Measure 50 g of epsom salt on a kitchen scale and add to the vinegar and zinc solution. The salt will help the liquid better conduct electricity.
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Add 60 g of sugar to the mixture.
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Clean a penny with a toothbrush and toothpaste and rinse well. Wear gloves when handling the clean penny to avoid soiling the penny with oils from your skin.
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Tape one end of a length of copper wire to the positive side of a flashlight battery and tape the other end to the zinc anode. Use electrical tape to secure the wire to the battery and anode.
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Attach another length of copper wire to the battery. Secure the other end of the wire to a shiny penny.
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Submerge the zinc anode and the penny in the vinegar and salt solution; don't allow them to touch one another.
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Soak the penny until it begins to form a silvery coating. At this point, you've successfully electroplated your penny.