Title: Part A – Plan and Design

Problem Statement:
My stainless steel gate that is not painted has rusted over a period of time and won’t open

Hypothesis:
Both oxygen and water is needed for rusting to occur

Aim:
To determine if both oxygen and water are needed for rusting to occur

Apparatus and Materials:

● 5 test tubes
● 10 3” nails
● Distilled water
● Oil
● Bunsen burner
● Tripod
● 250ml beaker
● 1 stopper
● Anhydrous Calcium Chloride(CaCl2(S))

Method:
1) Place 2 3” nails into each test tube.
2) In tube A, add nothing; leave uncapped to maintain normal atmospheric conditions such
as moisture and oxygen concentration.
3) In tube B, fill distilled water halfway up the nails and leave uncovered to allow air flow.
4) In tube C, place a layer of Anhydrous CaCl2 at the bottom of the test tube; place nails on
top of the CaCl2 and stopper it. Anhydrous CaCl2 is used to reduce the moisture
concentration of the air present in the test tube.
5) In tube D, completely submerge nail in oil.
6) Boil distilled water in the beaker to drive gases out of it.
7) Place boiled water into test tube E to completely submerge the nails and place a layer of
oil over it to avoid gases dissolving in the water.
8) Leave test tubes for at least a week to allow reactions to occur.
Table showing results:

Tube Conditions Observations

A Control

B Air and Water

C Air only

D No Air or Water

E Water only

DIAGRAM SHOWING THE SETUP OF APPARATUS

Stoppe
Test Test Test r
Test
Tube D Tube B Tube E
Tube A Oil Test Tube
Oil C
Nails Nails
Nails Nails Nails
Wate
r Water Anhydrous
CaCl2

Controlled Variables :
1) Number of nails.
2) Size of nails.
3) Length of time for reaction.

Manipulated Variables :
1) Conditions under which nails were placed.

Responding Variables :
1) Formation of Rust.

Treatment of Results :
In order for the hypothesis to be correct, a large amount of rusting would occur in test
tube B and a small amount of rusting may occur in test tube A. No rusting is expected to be seen
in test tubes C, D and E. If the hypothesis is incorrect, rusting may occur in either all or none of
the test tubes.
Discussion :
Rust is a general term for iron oxides formed by the reaction of iron with water and
oxygen. Several forms of rust are distinguishable visually, and form under different
circumstances. The chemical composition of rust is typically hydrated iron (III) oxide [Fe2O3 +
H2O], and under wet conditions may include iron (III) oxide-hydroxide[FeO(OH)]. Rusting is
the common term for corrosion of iron and its alloy, such as steel. Although oxidation of other
metals is equivalent, these oxides are not commonly called rust.

Pure iron oxidizes in water:

Fe(s) → Fe2+ + 2e-

These electrons will quickly react with the dissociated hydrogen ions (in H3O(aq) form)
and the dissolved oxygen in the water(O2(aq)):
4e-(aq) + 4H3O+(aq) + O2(aq) → 6H2O

Therefore, as seen from the above equation, the more acidic the water, the greater will be
the rate of corrosion(since the concentration of H3O+(aq) will be greater). At extremely low pH’s,
the hydrogen ions will react with the electrons producing hydrogen gas instead

2H+(aq) + 2e-(aq) → H2(g)

Thus, as seen from the above equations, the pH of the solution(whether it is pure water or water
containing electrolytes) rises. This leads to the formation of OH- ions (in cases where the body of
water is significantly large, the pH does not rise as sharply, but this is of no consequence since
OH- ions are always present, even in pure water.) The cations then react with the OH- or even the
H+ ions and dissolved oxygen to form a variety of compounds, which constitute rust:
Fe2+(aq) + 2OH-(aq) → Fe(OH)2(s)
4Fe2+(aq) + 4H+(aq) + O2(aq) → 4Fe3+(aq) + 2H2O(l)
Fe3+(aq) + 3OH-(aq) → Fe(OH)3(s)

From the above equations, it is seen that the pH and amount of dissolved oxygen can
affect the outcome of the reactions. In water with limited dissolved oxygen Fe3O4(s) is formed,
which is a black solid and commonly called lodestone:
6Fe2+(aq) + O2(aq) + 12OH-(aq) → 2Fe3O4(s) + 6H2O(l)
 The porous Fe(OH)3 rust can slowly disintegrate into a crystallized form, which is the
familiar red-brown rust:
2Fe(OH)3(s) → Fe2O3•H2O(s) + 2H2O(l)

Precautions :
1) Nails were checked for rust.
2) Anhydrous Calcium Chloride was used to absorb moisture as it is hygroscopic.

Possible Sources of Error :

1) The drying agent may not evaporate the moisture.
2) Nails may have been rusted previously.

Assumptions :
1) The nails were free of rust.
2) There were no impurities.

Title: Part B – The Implementation

Aim :
To determine if both oxygen and water are needed for rusting to occur

Apparatus :
● 5 test tubes
● 10 3” nails
● Distilled water
● Oil
● Bunsen burner
● Tripod
● 250ml beaker
● 1 stopper
● Anhydrous Calcium Chloride(CaCl2(S))

Method :
 1) 2 3” nails were placed into each test tube.
2) In tube A, nothing was added and it was uncapped to maintain normal atmospheric
conditions such moisture and oxygen concentration.
3) In tube B, distilled water was filled halfway up the nails and left uncovered to allow air
flow.
4) In tube C, a layer of CaCl2 was placed at the bottom of the tube and the nails were placed
on top. The CaCl2 was used to reduce the moisture concentration. The tube was then
stoppered to preven air flow.
5) In tube D, oil was added to completely submerge the nails.
6) Distilled water was boiled to drive the gases out of it.
7) The boiled water was placed into tube E to completely submerge the nails, followed by a
layer of oil to prevent any gases from dissolving in the water.
8) The test tubes were left for at least a week to allow reactions to occur.

Results : TABL E SHOWING RESULTS OBTAINED FROM EXPERIMENT

Tube Conditions Observations

A Control No rusting

B Air and Water Small amount of rusting

C Air only No rusting

D No Air or Water No rusting

E Water only No rusting

Diagram : DIAGRAM SHOWING THE SETUP OF APPARATUS

Stopper

Test Tube C

Nails
Anhydrous
CaCl2
 Test Test
Tube B Test
Tube A Test
Tube E
Tube D Oil
Nails Oil Nails
Nails Wate Nails
r
Water

Discussion :

In this experiment, the conditions under which rusting would occur was tested. Rust is a
general term for iron oxides formed by the reaction of iron with oxygen and water. Several forms
of rust are distinguishable visually, and form under different circumstances. . The chemical
composition of rust is typically hydrated iron (III) oxide [Fe2O3 + H2O], and under wet
conditions may include iron (III) oxide-hydroxide[FeO(OH)]. Rusting is the common term for
corrosion of iron and its alloy, such as steel. Although oxidation of other metals is equivalent,
these oxides are not commonly called rust. The pure iron of the nail oxidized in water:

Fe(s) → Fe2+(aq) + 2e-.

The lost electrons quickly reacted with the dissociated hydrogen ions and the dissolved oxygen
in the water

4e-(aq) + 4H3O+(aq) + O2(aq) → 6H2O.

The rate of corrosion depends on the acidity of the water as seen in the equation. At extremely
low pH’s, the electrons will react with the hydrogen ions producing hydrogen gas.

2H+(aq) + 2e-(aq) → H2(g).

As seen in the equation, the pH of the solution rises during the reaction; this leads to the
formation of OH- ions, in the case of if the body of water is significantly large. The cations then
react with the negative OH- ions or the H+ ions and dissolved oxygen to form a variety of
compounds which constitute rust.

Fe2+(aq) + 2OH-(aq) → Fe(OH)2(s)

4Fe2+(aq) + 4H+(aq) + O2(aq) → 4Fe3+(aq) + 2H2O(l)
 Fe3+(aq) + 3OH-(aq) → Fe(OH)3(s)
As shown in the above equations, the pH and amount of oxygen dissolved can affect the outcome
of the reactions. In water with limited dissolved oxygen, Fe3O4(s) is formed, which is a black solid
commonly called loadstone:
6Fe2+(aq) + O2(aq) + 12OH-(aq) → 2Fe3O4(s) + 6H2O(l)
The porous Fe(OH)3 rust can slowly disintegrate into a crystallized form, which is the familiar
red-brown rust:
2Fe(OH)3(s) → Fe2O3•H2O(s) + 2H2O(l)

Precautions :
1) Nails were checked for rust.
2) Anhydrous Calcium Chloride was used to absorb moisture as it is hygroscopic.

Sources of Error :
1) Nails were already slightly rusted
2) The stopper was not tight enough

Conclusion :
As seen in the results, both water and oxygen are needed for rusting to occur, and it does
not take place when both conditions are not simultaneously present. The electrolyte, in this case
water, acts as a catalyst in the reaction of the oxidation of iron to form rust. The presence of salt
(or any electrolyte) in the water accelerates the reaction because it increases the conductivity of
water, effectively increasing the concentration of ions in the water and so increasing the rate of
oxidation (corrosion) of the metal.

Reflection :
In this lab, I learned how rust is formed and how it affects each metal. I was also able to
understand redox reactions more and I understood how to resolve the problem of unwanted
rusting. Unfortunately, the experiment did not happen as I had planned. If I had to conduct this
experiment again, I would change the type of nails used for the experiment as they did not rust a
great deal. I would attempt to source pure iron nails as they would sow the best results instead of
the stainless steel nails used. I would also increase the length of time for the experiment as the
rust was not very noticeable. I would also add another test tube to test the nails in brine or salt
water to show the effects of salt on rusting.