RACE TO RUST

Introduction and Hypothesis: Rust is a reddish or yellowish-brown flaky coating of iron oxide that is formed on iron or steel by oxidation, especially in the presence of moisture. The rusting process is electrochemical, meaning it forms from a chemical reaction which takes place in a solution where there is an electron transfer between the electrode and the electrolyte or species in solution. In the case of rusting, the transfer of electrons from iron to oxygen begins the electrochemical process. Electrolytes accelerate the corrosion process when combined with water, similar to the rusting that occurs on vehicles due to road salt in winter conditions. In this experiment, our group will demonstrate how a chemical reaction from vinegar, water, and bleach can accelerate the rusting process of steel. If steel wool pads are submerged in bleach, water, and vinegar, then the steel wool pads will rust faster in water because Electrolytes accelerate the corrosion process when combined with water.

Materials and Procedure: you will need:
Steel wool pads (the soap-free kind)
3 Medium sized jars
Water
Vinegar
Bleach
Procedure:
1. Place the steel wool pad into the jar.
2. Fill the jar with water so the steel wool pad is completely submerged.
3. Fill another jar with bleach, and then submerge steel wool pad
4. Fill a third jar with vinegar and submerge the steel wool pad
5. Wait a few hours and watch how your steel wool quickly rusts.

Results:

The steel wool pads were submerged at 5:37 pm. Every 20 minutes, we observed the wool. At 5:57 no change had occurred. 20 minutes later, bleach had small rust particles. Water and vinegar had no change. At 6:37 the rust particles in the bleach started to fall. Water had a color change, and vinegar had bubbles on the wool. At 6:57, the wool submerged in the bleach had rusted a lot. The wool submerged in water had not rusted at all. And the wool in vinegar just had more bubbles.
Analysis: The