Name:
Rusting
Group Name:
Triangle of rust
Iron (ferrous) objects can rust quickly
Iron
if left outside, but what substances
need to be present for iron to rust?
Aim: Rust
To find out whether water & oxygen or both water
and oxygen need to be present for iron to rust. Oxygen Water
Rusting is an oxidation process in which water and Components
oxygen, usually in air, react with metal. It mostly occurs needed to form
on the metal’s surface. Some materials will not react rust
with oxygen in this way, and so will not rust. Some
ways to protect against rust are removing a factor, like
drying the metal out or removing the air.
Rusting
What does ‘rusting’ mean?
What makes metal rust?
Why don’t some materials rust?
Name one way to protect against rust.
Draw & annotate the triangle of rust below.
Corrosion
What is corrosion?
What is the difference between corrosion and rusting?
Think of what you have previously learned, and try writing word equations for
both corrosion and rusting. For a challenge, use the chemical formulas.
Give an example of corrosion.
Corrosion is the process in which a metal deteriorates because of an
electrochemical process. Rust or ferric oxide is a product of corrosion, though
rusting is only used for the corrosion of iron.
Apparatus: Steps:
1. Label your test tubes 1, 2, 3 & 4
respectively, and put your group
4 Test Tubes
name on each of them.
Desiccant (drying agent)
2. In 1, put in enough water to
Oil
cover the nails halfway. In 2, add
Salt
a spatula of the desiccant. In 3,
Water
boil the water to extract all of the
8 Iron Nails
oxygen, then add enough water
1 Marker
to cover the nails and some oil to
1 Spatula
cover the water. In 4, add a
spatula of salt and water,
Remember! enough to cover the nail.
Tick the box when you’ve got these! 3. Put two nails into each test tube.
Lab Coat Bring them to Nana, Jai,
Meilynh, Itim or Michael for
Safety Goggles
inspection & boiling.
Pair of Gloves 4. Note the appearance of the
nails in your table.
Drying agent
Number Water
and name
your test
tubes
Oil
Salt
&
&
Boiled
Water
water
Tilt the test tubes for Complete
a softer fall
the rest of
the
worksheet
Rusting
HYPOTHESIS: What do you think will happen to the each of the nails?
Why do you think this hypothesis is true; what is your proof?
Bonus question: create a timeline, from start of the experiment to
what you think the end will be.
Conclusion Success
Criteria
Summarise what you have learned today
I can…
Describe what
happens during
Why are oil and dessicant used to prevent rusting? corrosion &
rusting
Order the test tubes from fastest to slowest rusting, and explain Explain how to
your answer.
protect against
rusting
Compare your hypothesis to your table’s hypotheses. Create an Explain what
argument as to why yours is correct and not theirs. If they are rusting &
corrosion are
the same, reinforce your argument [support your claim].
Do a long-term
experiment
Rusting
Date: Tube 1 Tube 2 Tube 3 Tube 4 General
Note the date, then the conditons of each nail in the test tubes. Finally, add some
notes and decide whether or not your hypothesis matches with the results.
