You have two steel wool pads,one is cut up into little pieces, and the other is whole, and they are both submerged in water. 1.Which steel wool pad will rust quicker?2.How much faster will that pad rust? (estimate+explain the estimate)6.How could you make the steel wool pad rust faster?Please dont tell me to do my homework because I tried, but I bought the wrong type of steel wool
steel wool = iron fibers and rusts easily in air iron + Oxygen BUT the blue soap protects the iron at first. that needs to be cleaned off. damp surfaces speed the rusting but compeletly underwater there is not much O2, ther eis some temperature has an effect. the rusting depends ofn the area of the fibers which does NOT change when you cut th epad in smaller pieces. a good beginners experiment In old times thye thought the rusted material would lose weight becasuse it was not solid iron any more careful experiments showed it gained weight and lead to and understanding of chemistry
How to make it rust faster ? Adding oxygen to the water - bubbling air through it. Raising the temperature should make the reaction go faster, but I believe it also reduces the amount of dissolved gas. Adding salt, or an ionic compound like an acid, will accelerate electrochemical corrosion. That usually requires a less active metal, like copper, in contact with the steel, but variations in the composition of the steel may be sufficient to promote corrosion.
