RustingNail.gifGCSE Science-CHEMISTRY worksheet on RUSTING and METAL CORROSION Part 1

Site Meter * Do online OR printout, do, return to check answers. * GCSE Notes on the Reactivity Series of Metals and Rusting-Corrosion * AQA * CCEA * Edexcel * OCR 21stC * OCR Gateway * WJEC * EMAIL comment?query * Doc Brown's Chemistry Clinic updated 10-06-09 *

   alloy      chromium      faster      first      flake      less      oil      oxidation      oxide      oxygen      paint      reactive      rusting      sacrificial      stainless      water      zinc   
1. Iron (or steel) unfortunately corrodes than most other transition metals and readily does so in the presence of both (in air) and to form an iron . Iron corrosion is called and the chemical change with oxygen is called an reaction.

2. Iron and steel (an of iron) are most easily protected by which provides a barrier between the metal and air/water. Moving parts on machines can be protected by a water repellent or grease layer.

3. This corrosion can be prevented by connecting iron to a more metal (e.g. zinc or magnesium). This is called protection. By mixing iron with other metals such as you can make a non-rusting alloy called steel. Coating iron or steel with a layer is called 'galvanising'. The zinc preferentially corrodes first to form a zinc oxide layer that doesn't off. However if a reactive metal is attached, the iron then rusts as it becomes the more metal!