Science Fair Project Report

In designing our science fair project, many concepts and variables are to be considered. Our science fair project is experimenting on how rust forms so research and prior knowledge is required before we actually conduct the experiment. Having previous information on the topic allows us to be able to alter the variables accurately when we actually administer the procedure.
For our project, we are exploring the idea of the formation of rust and how the lack of or extra variables could affect the chemical corrosion. To experiment on this topic, we will be taking 4 small containers and set them up with different variables. The first jar would become our control group, containing just the water and oxygen. The second jar would contain no water, while the third …show more content…
To lose these electrons, the electrons are required to travel through the water. Therefore, when we add the iron filings and the water in the jar, it is likely that rust would form after 24 hours. However, the jars that lack oxygen and water (the second and third jars) wouldn’t be able to produce rust over a period of time, because of its lack of variables(water and oxygen). For the fourth jar, vinegar actually speeds up the rusting process because “it contains a dilute form of acetic acid.” (education.seattlepi.com) Acetic acid is when the hydrogen ions within the acid removes the electrons from the iron atoms and ionize it, thus creating the iron to be highly receptive to rust. If we were to alter the variables in our experiment, adding salt and bleach would accelerate the rusting process. Salt speeds up the rusting process because it lowers the electrical resistance of the water. Therefore, through oxidation, metal atoms lose electrons and then forming ions. Lowering the electrical resistance of the water makes it easier for the electrons to flow from the iron atoms to the oxygen atoms, thus accelerating the rusting