• Question: Why does metal rust?

    Asked by lillygrass to Asif, Laura, Lena, Sean, Viv on 14 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Laura Waters

      Laura Waters answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      If you have a metal and oxygen and water you get a chemical reaction that makes rust. See, chemistry happens all the time around us!

    • Photo: Lena Ciric

      Lena Ciric answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      Yes. The orangey/browney colour you see is iron oxide produced in this reaction.

    • Photo: Sean Murphy

      Sean Murphy answered on 14 Mar 2012:

      Iron reacts with oxygen to form iron oxide. This is the red stuff we call rust. Other chemicals also react with oxygen to form oxides too.

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