Preventing Corrosion on Metal Question Does dipping nails

Preventing Corrosion on Metal

Question Does dipping nails in candle wax and nail polish affect the amount of rust on them?

Hypothesis If nails rust when moisture and oxygen mix then using different coverings on them will slow corrosion but nail polish will stop corrosion.

Background Research Corrosion is also known as rust, and it is not harmful to humans, but it can be anywhere. Any place that there is moisture and oxygen, rust can be formed. The chemical reaction from water and oxygen makes rust. Without water or oxygen, rust can not be created.

Background Research Cont. What is rust? Rust is caused when iron is in contact with water and oxygen. When you see rust, it’s color is a burnt orange. It can take days, weeks, months, or even years to become rust. As the metal rusts, it makes the metal or iron weaker. Rust is an iron oxide, and is less magnetic, so it can make metal weak. A powder will form and slowly cover the metal in rust, leaving a very corroded piece of metal.

Bibliography Ø J. , Tom, and Mike. “Effects of Rust. ” Effects of Rust, 14 Dec. 2017, www. van. physics. illinois. edu. Ø “Science- Making Cars. ” Science-Making Cars, 9 Jan. 2017, wwwbbc. co. uk. Ø “What Exactly Is Rust. ” 13 Dec. 2017. Ø Winkler, Sarah. nailpolish 101. 14 Dec. 2017, www. health. howstuffworks. com.

Materials Ø 3 Styrofoam cups Ø 1/2 cup measuring cup Ø Candle wax Ø Clear nail polish Ø Water Ø 3 ungalvanized nails

Procedures Ø Grab out all of the materials Ø Pour ½ a cup of water in to all of the foam cups Ø Cover the 1 st nail with clear nail polish Ø Cover the 2 nd nail with candle wax Ø Leave the 3 rd nail plain Ø Put 1 nail in each cup Ø Let nails sit for period of time Ø Record data

Data 12 -15 -17 Once the nails were dropped in the water there were bubbles in the nail polish cup and in the plain cup. 12 -18 -17 The plain nail has rusted a lot, the nail polish nail has rusted a little, and the wax nail has not rusted.

Data Cont. 12 -18 -17 The nail with nail polish has started to turn white.

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Results & Interpretation The hypothesis for the experiment was incorrect. The wax nail did not rust, and the nail polish nail did rust. If one variable from this experiment could be changed, the amount of nails and the covering on them would be changed. These would be changed because there would be more to experiment with.

Conclusion The hypothesis was incorrect, the nail with wax was the best at stopping corrosion. It was covered in a thick coating of wax, so it didn’t rust. The plain nail had no coating so it rusted like a normal piece of metal would. The last nail was coated in 3 coats of clear nail polish. Nail polish is made with nitrocellulose witch is a film so the thought was it would block out air and water and prevent rust. The nail with wax on it still had a decent coat of wax on it and the water was still crystal clear. The nail with nail polish on it rusted on the top and the nail started to turn white. The water color was yellow. The plain nail with no coating was rusted on 1 side only. Burnt orange was the color of the water. Wax is made with paraffin so the nail with the wax didn’t rust. In conclusion the wax prevented rust the best.