why are handle bars of a bicycle electroplated with chromium?

To prevent it from rusting.

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Electroplating

Try to scratch the shiny coating of the handle of a bicycle. You will find that the surface beneath is dull. Do you know how the handle bar of a bicycle is made so shiny?

Electroplating is the process of depositing a layer of metal over another metal or any other object using electricity. Electroplating is used to make ornaments by depositing a layer of gold on silver jewelleries.

Chromium is a shiny metal, which prevents objects from corrosion, scratches, etc. However, since chromium metal is very expensive, objects cannot be made from it. Therefore, a layer of chromium is used to deposit on objects through the process of electroplating. Hence, chromium plating is done on parts of vehicles, burners, bathroom taps, bicycle handle bars, bicycle rims, etc.

Plating of copper coin with zinc

Now, there are some key points that you should remember in the previous experiment.

Since free zinc gets attracted towards the negative terminal of the battery, negative free end is attached to the copper coin.

The amount of zinc in the zinc sulphate solution is reduced due to the loss of free zinc from the solution. The lost amount of zinc is replenished from the zinc plate, which is connected with the positive terminal of the battery. Hence, in this way, the quantity of zinc in the solution remains constant. As zinc from the zinc plate goes into the solution, the thickness of the zinc plate reduces with time.

Therefore, in the process of electroplating, one metal (zinc) gets plated to the other metal (copper).

Tin cans

Tin cans are used to store food, oil, etc. instead of iron cans. This is because food gets spoilt if it comes in contact with iron. By depositing expensive tin over less expensive iron by the technique of electroplating, less expensive tin cans can be produced.

Electroplating protects iron from rusting

Rusting of iron reduces its strength. Thus, there should be an alternative that can be used in bridges, automobiles, frames of structures, etc., which can provide the desired strength.

A coating of zinc on iron protects it from corrosion and rusting. This can be achieved by electroplating of zinc on iron .We can also use it in place of iron. Zinc plated iron is known as galvanized iron.