Preventing Rust on Iron Nails

1. Preventing Rust on Iron Nails By: Miss LeRoy and Mr. Gervais

2. Purpose To examine the effect of different materials at preventing rust formation on iron nails.

3. Experimental Design

4. Quantitative Observations Table 1: The effect of petroleum jelly and vinegar on preventing rust on iron nails

5. Discussion- Explanation of Results • Control nail rusted because it was exposed to air and water which cause corrosion • Petroleum Jelly was the most effective rust inhibitor because it coats the nail • Vinegar increased the rate of rust formation because it contains a lot of water

6. Discussion- Implications • Materials which are oil based would be effective at preventing corrosion of nails • Petroleum Jelly would be too messy to use, but other types of oils may be effective • Oil based products could be used to coat nails, bridge components, or vehicles to prevent rust formation

7. References Berg, L., Martin, D., Solomon, E. (2002). Biology. Thompson Learning, USA