CHM01 – Chemistry for Engineers – Laboratory

EXPERIMENT NO. 9

CORROSION OF METALS

INTRODUCTION

This is a longterm corrosion experiment requiring a few minutes each day first for
setup then for observation. Students will be able to observe the results of corrosion over
several days, up to 2 weeks. Rates of corrosion can be affected by many factors,
including the environment, stress, oxygen availability, etc. When different metals are in
electrical contact, the most active metal corrodes. Steel corrosion produces a variety of
iron oxides, depending on conditions. In this experiment, students can observe several
of these factors. The samples need to be kept in a safe location for this period,
undisturbed but available for observation.

Corrosion occurs through the oxidation of metals in our environment. Most

metals corrode, some more rapidly than others, depending on that environment.
Students are familiar with rust, the iron oxide corrosion product of steel. The form and
amount of corrosion that occurs depends on factors such as:

• Amount of water in the environment

• Presence of salt or other chemicals
• State of stress of the steel
• Presence of other metals in the environment

In these experiments we test each of these parameters to allow students to

experience the variety of results possible. The question on the state of stress relates to
the manufacturing process, since different parts of the same product may be produced
in different states of stress. Corrosion will occur where the state of the material is at the
highest energy. This is the case for deformed areas. Corrosion will occur at the bent
portion of the nail and at the head and point of the nail (nails are formed from a wire by
applying stress).

Another effect relates to different metals being present. A galvanized nail has a
layer of zinc electrodeposited on it. The zinc is more active than iron, so the zinc will
corrode first, protecting the nail from corrosion. Even if there is a break in the
galvanized coating, the protection will still be present. Galvanizing is used on many
steel products, such as garbage cans and light poles.
 For the Aluminum/copper experiment, aluminum is more active than copper, so
the aluminum corrodes. The cloudy solution results from the aluminum corrosion
products.

OBJECTIVES:

The students will be able to

1. Explain the process of corrosion

2. Determine differences in corrosion rates as a function of salinity in the water
and stress in the material
3. Compare corrosion effects when different materials are in contact.

MATERIALS
10 jars
1 to 2 cup size (250 to 500 ml) Fresh water
Salt water (add salt to fresh water, about 0.5 grams per cup of water) 2
each of steel nails, 2 to 3 inches long, as follows:
• Standard bright nails
• Standard bright nails, bent to a 90-degree angle (use a vise
and hammer to bend these nails)
• Galvanized nails
• Galvanized nails with galvanizing removed in one area (use
a file or sandpaper) 2 copper pennies/copper foil aluminum foil

PROCEDURE:

1. Fill 5 jars part way with fresh water—label as fresh water

2. Fill 5 jars part way with salt water—label as salt water
3. Introduce one set of each type of nails into 4 freshwater jars
4. Introduce the second set of each type of nails into 4 saltwater jars. In
the 5th freshwater jar introduce a piece of aluminum foil, then place a
penny on top of the aluminum foil.
6. Repeat #5 using a saltwater jar.

Have the students observe the process of corrosion in each jar over a
period of 1 to 2 weeks. Have them make notes on what is happening in
each jar as a function of time.

Attach the pictures of the results with label.

Name _YAO, KOJI F._________________ Date performed _23/12/2020___
Course/Class Schedule _BSCE-1B_______ Date submitted _30/12/2020___

EXPERIMENT NO. 9: CORROSION OF METALS

QUESTIONS:

1. What is the difference between corrosion in salt water as opposed to fresh

water? Discuss why it occurs.
Corrosion is the result of oxidation of metals. The rate of corrosion of metals
are determined by the chlorine content, oxygen content, and temperature.
Saltwater contains more chloride and is more conductive than freshwater,
which makes it more corrosive than freshwater.

2. Why do the nails corrode at points of stress? Can you tell where the stress points
are? What is the cause of the stress?
Stress on metal can accelerate corrosion. In the experiment, we curved the
standard nails at a 90-degree angle, which requires stress to be applied. The
stress point would be at the vertex or the corner of the angle, especially on
the outer side of the corner where tension is applied. Because of this,
corrosion is more evident on the corner of the curved nail.

3. What does the galvanized coating do for the nails? Have them give examples of
galvanizing used on other products.
Galvanizing is done by applying a coating of zinc. The coating acts as a
protection to prevent premature corrosion. Common things that are
galvanized include railings, benches, staircases, ladders, balconies, and
more. These products are galvanized for the reason that they are commonly
built in an open area and can be exposed to humidity or rain.
4. What happened to the aluminum foil where it was in touch with the copper
penny? Relate this to a metal activity chart.

For the freshwater jar, the water appeared misty overtime, which is caused
by the corrosion of the aluminum foil. It also appeared that the copper penny
did not show signs of corrosion at all. This differs from the saltwater jar, in
which the copper penny appeared to have corroded but only on the exposed
side. The underside of the penny which was in contact with the aluminum foil
has no signs of corrosion. The water however appeared more misty than the
freshwater counterpart, which shows that the aluminum foil on the saltwater
jar has corroded more than the freshwater sample.
DOCUMENTATION

DAY 1

FRESHWATER

Galvanized nail Copper penny & Galvanize- Standard nail

aluminum foil removed nail

Curved standard
nail

SALTWATER

Standard nail Galvanize- Galvanized nail Curved standard

removed nail nail
 Copper penny &
aluminum foil

DAY 2

FRESHWATER

Standard nail Galvanize- Galvanized nail Curved Copper penny

removed nail standard nail & aluminum foil

SALTWATER

Standard nail Copper penny Galvanized nail Galvanize- Standard

& aluminum foil removed nail curved nail
 DAY 3

FRESHWATER

Copper penny Standard nail Galvanized nail Standard Galvanize-

& aluminum foil curved nail removed nail

SALTWATER

Galvanized nail Galvanize- Standard Standard nail Copper penny

removed nail curved nail & aluminum foil
 DAY 4

FRESHWATER

Copper penny Standard Standard nail Galvanized nail Galvanize-

& aluminum foil curved nail removed nail

SALTWATER

Standard Copper penny Galvanize- Galvanized nail Standard nail

curved nail & aluminum foil removed nail
 DAY 5

FRESHWATER

Copper penny Standard nail Standard Galvanized nail Galvanize-

& aluminum foil curved nail removed nail

SALTWATER

Standard nail Galvanize- Galvanized nail Copper penny Standard

removed nail & aluminum foil curved nail
 DAY 6

FRESHWATER

Copper penny Standard nail Standard Galvanized nail Galvanize-

& aluminum foil curved nail removed nail

SALTWATER

Copper penny Standard nail Standard Galvanized nail Galvanize-

& aluminum foil curved nail removed nail
 DAY 7

FRESHWATER

Standard Standard nail Galvanize- Copper penny Galvanized nail

curved nail removed nail & aluminum foil

SALTWATER

Copper penny Standard nail Standard Galvanize- Galvanized nail

& aluminum foil curved nail removed nail
NOTES

DAY 1: Start of the experiment, no signs of oxidation/change in appearance.

DAY 2: All standard nails, curved and not curved, showed signs of oxidation. Standard
nails in the salted water appears to be more oxidized that the standard nails in the fresh
water. The rest of the samples (pennies, aluminum foil, and galvanized nails) shows no
signs of oxidation.

DAY 3: All standard nails, curved and not curved, have shown increased signs of
oxidation. Water have changed and became more brownish in color. The waters for
partially removed galvanized nails, fresh and salted, have slightly changed color to gray.
Galvanized nails and copper pennies with aluminum foil have shown no signs of
oxidation.

DAY 4: All standard nails, curved and not curved, have shown increased oxidation and
can be visually described as "rusting". The water also has more brownish color than in
the previous days. For the penny and aluminum foil, the penny in the salted water have
shown oxidation while the one in the fresh water has not. Nails with galvanized removed
(salt and fresh water) now appears to have white spots along the nails. The water now
appears to be misty. For the galvanized nails, white spots along the nail and misty water
can only be found for the fresh water. Galvanized nail in salt water only shows minimal
oxidation.

DAY 5: All standard nails, curved and not curved, have shown increased oxidation. The
water also has more brownish color than in the previous days. The nails with the
galvanized removed (fresh and salted water) has more prominent white spots than the
day before. The water is as the same, misty white. The galvanized nails (fresh and
salted water) have also shown signs of oxidation, although the freshwater sample has
more prominent signs of oxidation (white spots and misty water). The penny in the
saltwater appears to be just the same as the previous day, as well as the aluminum foil.
The freshwater sample of the penny and aluminum foil has misty water, which appears
to be from the aluminum foil being oxidized.

DAY 6: All samples have shown increased signs of oxidation except for the copper
penny and aluminum foil, which still appears the same as the previous day.

DAY 7: All samples have shown slightly increased signs of oxidation, except for the
copper penny in the freshwater jar.