This time does not include prep time and pre and post lab discussions. Simulate Nature's Phenomena. Without oxygen there would be no human life on earth. In fact, there would be no animal or plant species. In fact, there would be no life except for those species that can exist without free oxygen, such as anaerobic bacteria.
Oxygen reacts with many other elements to form compounds that are essential to many ecosystems.
In this experiment, iron is oxidized from ferric to ferrous oxide. Oxidation is a chemical process that occurs from a loss of electrons resulting in a more positive state for an element or compound. This is the basis of rusting, as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water complexes with iron to yield the characteristic orange red color of the oxidized metal. The amount of oxygen leaving the test tube can be measured. It is equal to the volume of the amount of water that enters the tube as oxygen is displaced.