The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing since 1989
-----

Science project: Rust replacing metal

Thank you,

Samuel J.
Student - Glendale, Wisconsin, United States
2004

I am a middle school student doing a science project about rust effecting the amount of amperage going through an iron rod. I have the red and black rust formula, but how do I find how much metal has been replaced by how much rust? If this question can be answered, I'll greatly appreciate it.

---

2004

The best way is to weigh the rusted piece, strip the rust chemically, dry, and then weigh the cleaned piece. Ideally, the weighing should be done using an analytical balance. The weight difference is the amount of rust. To convert the rust mass to iron mass, rust is usually Fe2O3, so the mass fraction of oxygen needs to be subtracted from the total rust math.

James Totter, CEF
- Tallahassee, Florida