Olympic gold medals are mostly silver with a gold coating. According to IOC rules, at least how many grams of pure gold must each one contain?
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Answer
About 6 grams
The last Olympic gold medals made of solid gold were handed out at the Stockholm Games of 1912.
How to estimate it
Estimate the volume of the coating. A medal is about 8.5 cm across, so both faces together cover 2 × 3.14 × 4.25² = 113 square centimetres. Heavy gold plating is about 25 micrometres thick, or 0.0025 cm, giving 113 × 0.0025 = 0.28 cubic centimetres. Gold weighs 19.3 grams per cubic centimetre: 0.28 × 19.3 = 5.5 grams. The IOC minimum is 6 grams.
Source: International Olympic Committee
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