Background: Iron is first oxidized to iron(II) ions by oxygen. In the second step, the iron(II) ions are further oxidized and combine with water and oxygen gas to produce a hydrated form of iron(III) oxide known as rust. Rusting is one of many example of corrosion. Corrosion is the deterioration of metals by redox processes. Corrosion causes enormous amounts of damage to buildings, bridges, ships, cars, and other objects. It has been estimated that corrosion costs the U.S. economy over 100 billion dollars each year. A great amount of time and effort is spent to try to limit or prevent corrosion.

Situation: Two sailors, Jim and Eric decide to buy boats. The boats they buy ave a decent amount of iron in the construction and will be exposed to water almost constantly. Jim decides to coat his boat in a protective seal that seals out water and air. Eric thinks this is unnecessary and does not buy the protective seal.

Question: Will the boat that Jim bought or the boat that Eric bought corrode faster?
Answer: Eric

Situation: Two sailors, Jim and Eric decide to buy boats. The boats they buy ave a decent amount of iron in the construction and will be exposed to water almost constantly. Jim decides to coat his boat in a protective seal that seals out water and air. Eric thinks this is unnecessary and does not buy the protective seal.

Question: Given you coat iron in a seal protecting it from water and oxygen, will the natural rate of corrosion increase or decrease?
Answer: decrease

Situation: Two sailors, Jim and Eric decide to buy boats. The boats they buy ave a decent amount of iron in the construction and will be exposed to water almost constantly. Jim decides to coat his boat in a protective seal that seals out water and air. Eric thinks this is unnecessary and does not buy the protective seal.

Question: Will iron left out in a dry area such as a desert, or iron left in a damp area like a rain forest corrode faster?
Answer: rain forest

Situation: Jordan is conducting an experiment to see how Iron rusts. He first takes Iron Bar A and puts it out on his porch on a rainy day. Then he puts Iron bar B in an airtight bag and removes all of the oxygen and air to vacuum seal it. After some time passes the bar he left outside is completely covered in rust. He removes the bar in the vacuum sealed bag and to his surprise it has no rust at all. Because there was no oxygen and water in the air tight bag, iron bar B has no rust at all. Iron bar A was exposed to a lot of water and oxygen and there for it rusted completely.

Question: Will leaving an iron bar in an open and wet environment make ir more or less likely to rust?
Answer: more

Situation: Jordan is conducting an experiment to see how Iron rusts. He first takes Iron Bar A and puts it out on his porch on a rainy day. Then he puts Iron bar B in an airtight bag and removes all of the oxygen and air to vacuum seal it. After some time passes the bar he left outside is completely covered in rust. He removes the bar in the vacuum sealed bag and to his surprise it has no rust at all. Because there was no oxygen and water in the air tight bag, iron bar B has no rust at all. Iron bar A was exposed to a lot of water and oxygen and there for it rusted completely.

Question: Given a new piece of iron, will leaving it outside or sealing it in a bag cause it to rust?
Answer: outside

Situation: Jordan is conducting an experiment to see how Iron rusts. He first takes Iron Bar A and puts it out on his porch on a rainy day. Then he puts Iron bar B in an airtight bag and removes all of the oxygen and air to vacuum seal it. After some time passes the bar he left outside is completely covered in rust. He removes the bar in the vacuum sealed bag and to his surprise it has no rust at all. Because there was no oxygen and water in the air tight bag, iron bar B has no rust at all. Iron bar A was exposed to a lot of water and oxygen and there for it rusted completely.

Question: Which iron bar was exposed to more water and oxygen, Iron Bar A or Iron Bar B?
Answer: Iron Bar A