FACULTY SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

SULTAN IDRIS EDUCATION UNIVERSITY

SBI3013 : Information And Communication Technology In Biology
Assignment 2 : The Rusting Of Iron

Name

Matric Number

Muhammad Farhan Azwan Bin Daud

D20141066897

Mohammad Alif Bin Azmi Murat

D20141066890

Lecturer : En. Azmi Bin Ibrahim

Title : The rusting of iron

Introduction

Oxidation of iron to form rust. In oxidation reactions such as rust formation, a

molecule or atom loses electrons and becomes more positively charged.
Although it can also take place with other chemicals, oxidation is so named
because the first such reactions to be thoroughly studied were reactions with
oxygen. During the rusting of iron, oxygen from the air reacts with it to form iron
oxide and, at the same time this iron oxide combines with water to form
hydrated iron oxide. In this experiment the use of oxygen in this process can be
seen in that, in a sealed container, the level of oxygen reduces with time. Rust
consists

of

hydrated iron(III)

oxides Fe2O3nH2O

and iron(III)

oxide-

hydroxide (FeO(OH), Fe(OH)3).

Basic chemical equation for rusting process :

Materials and Apparatus :

PC with PicoLog datalogging software installed

DrDAQ Data Logger
Oxygen in air sensor (DD103)
1 litre beaker
Beehive shelf
Trough icecream container
Water (H2O)
5 g steel wool ( fine mesh to provide a large surface area)
Sticky fixers

Procedure :
1. The experiment should be set up as shown in figure 1 below.
2. Connect the DrDAQ datalogger to the parallel port (or USB if you are using
a USB to Parallel port adaptor).

3. Mount the oxygen sensor, pointing upwards, on the beehive shelf. A little
BluTack is useful for anchoring it in place securely. Run its connecting lead
through the central hole of the beehive shelf.
4. Fill the trough with water at room temperature to a depth of about 3 cm
and place the beehive shelf with the sensor into it. Plug the connecting
lead into External socket 1 on DrDAQ.
5. Secure three sticky fixers to the inside of the 1 litre beaker, above what
will be the level of the water, and fix the steel wool to these. Now place
this beaker, upside-down, over the beehive shelf and into the water so
that it seals in the air.
6. Once the equipment has been set up, place it in a centrally heated
laboratory or room so that the equipment remains at a near constant
temperature.
7. Load PicoLog and configure it to collect readings of the oxygen sensor
every minute for a whole day (1440 samples).
8. Set it to start recording. When datalogging is complete, display the graph
of percentage (%) oxygen against time.

Figure 1
An extension to the experiment could be to place the trough, beehive shelf,
oxygen sensor, beaker, steel wool etc. into a thermostatically controlled heated
water bath, or on a hotplate, and see if temperature affects the rate of rusting
and so the speed of uptake of oxygen. Temperatures up to 40C are OK. You

could also see the effect of cooling, but do not go below 5 C as the operating
range of the oxygen sensor is 5 C to 40C.

Result :
It can be seen from Figure 2 below that the oxygen level makes a steady fall over
the 24 hours showing the uptake of oxygen in the reaction which results in
rusting.
You should also be able to see that rusting has taken place by the appearance of
the brownish-orange oxide coating that will have formed on the steel wool.The
average room temperature for this experiment was around 21C.

Figure 2

Discussion :

The rusting of iron is an electrochemical process that begins with the transfer
of electrons from iron to oxygen.

The iron is the reducing agent (gives up

electrons) while the oxygen is the oxidising agent (gains electrons). The rate of
corrosion is affected by water and accelerated by electrolytes, as illustrated by
the effects of road salt on the corrosion of automobiles. The key reaction is the
reduction of oxygen:
O2 + 4e + 2H2O 4OH
Because it forms hydroxide ions, this process is strongly affected by the presence
of acid. Indeed, the corrosion of most metals by oxygen is accelerated at low pH.
Providing the electrons for the above reaction is the oxidation of iron that may be
described as follows:
Fe Fe2+ + 2e
The following redox reaction also occurs in the presence of water and is crucial to
the formation of rust:
4Fe2+ + O2 4Fe3+ + 2O2
In addition, the following multistep acid-base reactions affect the course of rust
formation:
Fe2+ + 2H2O Fe(OH)2 + 2H+
Fe3+ + 3H2O Fe(OH)3 + 3H+
as do the following dehydration equilibria:
Fe(OH)2 FeO + H2O
Fe(OH)3 FeO(OH) + H2O
2FeO(OH) Fe2O3 + H2O
From the above equations, it is also seen that the corrosion products are dictated
by the availability of water and oxygen. With limited dissolved oxygen, iron(II)containing

materials

are

black lodestone or magnetite (Fe3O4).

favoured,
High

oxygen

including FeO and

concentrations

favour ferric materials with the nominal formulae Fe(OH) 3-xOx/2. The nature of rust
changes with time, reflecting the slow rates of the reactions of solids.

Figure 3 : The process of Rusting of Iron

Example of Reduction Process

Conclusion :
For rusting of iron to occurs, they must have present of water (H 2O) and oxygen
(O2). When a droplet of water containing a little dissolved oxygen falls on an iron
pipe, the iron under the droplet oxidizes. Oxidation and reduction will take places in
that process of iron rusting. When iron corrodes, the material remaining is rust, also
known as iron oxide (Fe2O3). When water hits iron, it mixes with carbon dioxide in
the air. This mix creates a weak carbonic acid, an electrolyte that starts to
dissolve the iron. The dissolved iron then combines with the oxygen freed from
the water.