Corrosion Experiment - Science

Investigating Rusting 

Hypothesis: All of the test tubes will have a corroded nail except for the one in D. 

Aim: To investigate the factors that cause rusting in iron. 

Equipment: 

8 test tubes
Test tube racks 
A bung
8 iron nails
Boiled water 
Tap water
Salty water
Cooking oil
Calcium chloride
Vaseline
Nail polish
Zinc

Method:

1. Label four test tubes A - D and place them in a test tube rack. 

2. Test tube contents: A = Iron nail and tap water, B = Iron nail and salty water, C = Iron nail, boiled water, oil, and D = Iron nail and calcium chloride. Sealed with a bung.

3. Leave the test tube undisturbed for at least three days. 

Test Tube	A condition present or absent	Observation after experiment
A	Nail	The nail only rusted at the top and didn’t really look different from how it looked before the experiment took place.
B	Tap water + Nail	Out of all the other test tubes, B was the one that corroded the most. The whole nail was covered with rust.
C	Salt + Water + Nail	This test tube was not as bad as the one before. It still rusted but only a little bit.
D	Oil + Water + Nail	This nail didn’t corrode as much as the other ones since it was covered with oil, preventing air and water from touching the nail.
E	CaCl + Bungs + Nail	This nail was the only one that did not corrode out of all the other nails.
F	Vaseline + Water + Nail	Same as the one with the oil, this nail didn’t corrode as much because it was covered with vaseline that has the same substance as oil.
G	Nail Polish + Water + Nail	This nail corroded and covered the whole nail. When you shake it, the rust just stays on the nail, unlike the other ones when shaken.
H	Zn + Water + Nail	With the last test tube, it only corroded the Zn but hardly the nail. There were also tiny pieces of rust floating in the water.

Experiment followed:

Before Experiment: