"JoshAGS" wrote in
message oups.com...
Okay so, I ordered about 2 pounds of zinc off of ebay from a good
seller.
At first I suspected it wasn't zinc because it was really soft. Zinc
is a
soft metal but is it that soft? I asked the seller and he insisted
greatly
that it was melted from zinc wheel weights, however, I think
otherwise
because of this reasons. I experimented on the metal. I suspected
lead
because it leaves a residue on my bare hands after handling and
because
it's a tiny bit harder than lead, I also did the sound test by
dropping
the ingot, it did not make a blunt sound but more of a "ding". So I
ruled
out lead. Next, I got some zinc from a melted penny. Since I heard
zinc
reacts with acid to produce hydrogen, I took some metal form the
ingot and
the zinc from the penny and placed it in vinegar. After 1 hour, the
zinc
from the penny was producing hydrogen and turning into a black
powder
while the other did nothing at all. After a few days The zinc was
totally
dissolved and the other metal was still perfectly fine. Next I did a
hardness test, I could not easly dent or scratch the zinc from the
penny
but I was able to dent the other metal easily. it's harder than lead
but
softer than zinc. The metal is a shiny gray color. Does anyone here
know
what it could be? (I haven't tried to melt it because I don't want
to
create toxic fumes if it is something other than zinc.)

Weigh it suspended in and out of water. The difference in grams is its
volume in milliliters. Zinc's density is around 7 grams per
milliliter.
http://www.themeter.net/pesi-spec_e.htm

If you need standard weights for a home-brew balance, US nickels weigh
very close to 5 grams.

-jsw