OXIDATION AND RUSTING

Enabling Objectives:

 Composition of air
 Oxidation
 Definition of oxidation in terms of oxygen and electrons
 Process of rusting and corrosion
 Preventive treatment of rusting

COMPOSTIN OF AIR

 Air contains nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon and small amount of other gases.
 About one-fifth of the air is oxygen.
 About four-fifths of the air is nitrogen.
 Air also contains a variable amount of water vapour

Some of the uses of the gases:

Complete the following passage by filling in the blanks
(Note: Some of the words may not be present in the above table, and you may need to fill
in the same word more than once.)

mixture Glowing splint Food packages

nitrogen relight(s) Living cells
oxygen Hydrogen carbonate indicator alive
Carbon dioxide softdrinks
Water vapour limewater Fire extinguishers
Breathed air milky variable
Unbreathed air Dry cobalt chloride paper Remains the same

Air is a ______________ of gases, including ______________, _______________, _________________

and __________________. There are also other gases present in air, but their quantities are very small.

Nitrogen is about _______% by volume in air. It is used to fill up ___________________ in order to

exclude oxygen and extend their shelf life. Liquid nitrogen is used to store ____________________.
There is no simple test for nitrogen.

Oxygen is about 21 % _____________ in air. It keeps all living things _______________. It can be tested
with a piece of ________________, which ________________ in oxygen.

Carbon dioxide is about 0.03 % ____________ in air. It is used to make _____________ and
____________________. It can be __________________ a hydrogen carbonate indicator or
______________________. The hydrogen carbonate indicator changes from red to ____________, and
lime water______________ colourless to milky in carbon dioxide.

The amount of water vapour in air is (20) ________________. Water also keeps all living things
________________. Water or water vapour _________________ a piece of dry cobalt chloride paper,
which changes ____________________in water.

When we breathe, we take ___________ from the air and release_______________ and
______________. There is _______ oxygen, _______ carbon dioxide, and _______ water vapour in
breathed air than unbreathed air. The amount of nitrogen in breathed and unbreathed air
________________.

Composition of Air and Gas Properties –

Name : _______________________ Class : ________ Date : ______________

Section A: True or False

Write a ‘T’ in the bracket if the statement is true and an ‘F’ if it is false.

( ) 1. Breathed air contains more carbon dioxide but less water vapour than unbreathed air does.

( ) 2. Breathed air turns lime water milky.

( ) 3. Breathed air contains more carbon dioxide than oxygen.

( ) 4. We can use the hydrogen carbonate indicator to test for water vapour.

( ) 5. The largest amount of gas in air is nitrogen.

( ) 6. There is no simple test for the presence of nitrogen.

( ) 7. The amount of nitrogen is the same in breathed and unbreathed air.

( ) 8. A glowing splint goes out immediately when it is put into a jar of breathed air.

( ) 9. Nitrogen is added in food packages to exclude oxygen and extend their shelf life.

( ) 10. Liquid carbon dioxide is used to store living cells.

Section B: Fill in the blanks

1. Air is a (a)_____________ of gases. It contains 21% of (b)______________ , 78% of

(c)________________ , 0.03% of (d)_____________________ and variable amount of
(e)__________________.

2. A glowing splint (f)_______________ in oxygen.

3. (g)________________________________ paper changes from blue to (h)_____________ if water is

added to it.

4. Carbon dioxide turns (i) from colourless to (j)____________________

OXIDATION
  Definition of oxidation in terms of oxygen and electrons

What is oxidation?
A reaction in which the atoms of an element lose electrons and the
valence of the element increases.

Oxidation in terms of oxygen transfer

 Oxidation is gain of oxygen ‘

 For example,

Oxidation in terms of electron transfer

 Oxidation is loss of electron

 For example,

The copper (II) ions are removing electrons from the magnesium (Mg) to create the magnesium
ions (Mg2+)

 Rusting and Corrosion

What is corrosion?
A material can get deteriorated due to different reasons, like wear and tear or physical damage.
Apart from this, there is another form of deterioration of a material called chemical
deterioration or corrosion.
Corrosion is the gradual destruction of material, usually metals, by chemical reaction with its
environment.
 What is rusting?
 Rusting is a type of corrosion specifically for iron and steel only.
 It occurs when iron or steel come in contact with oxygen and water, and other substance in the
air for prolonged periods which causes some chemical reaction.
 In rusting, the iron molecule will oxidize to form iron oxide or rust. Rust is a reddish brown flaky
coating that forms on iron or steel due to the chemical reactions with the atmosphere.
 4Fe + 3O 2 = 2Fe 2O 3
 Rust only forms when conditions are right – when there is enough water and air

 Preventive treatment of rusting

1. Galvanization:
Galvanization is a process in which a coating of zinc is applied to steel or iron in order to prevent
rusting. The most common method of galvanization is called hot dip galvanization where steel
parts are dipped in molten zinc.
2. Cathodic Protection:
It is another method used for protection of a metal from corrosion by making the metal surface
a cathode of an electrochemical cell.
3. Coating and paintings:
Metals can be protected from rusting by applying a coat of paint, lacquer or varnish which
isolates the metal from the environment.
4. Alloying:
Iron and steel can be mixed with other metals to form alloys which do not rust. For example,
stainless steel used in cutlery, tools and other expensive equipment which might rust easily.

Fill in the blanks below

Alloy chromium faster first

flake less oil oxidation
oxide oxygen paint reactive
rusting stainless water zinc

1. Iron (or steel) unfortunately corrodes ________ than most other transition metals and readily does so
in the presence of both _______ (in air) and ________ to form an iron _________. Iron corrosion is
called ________ and the chemical change with oxygen is called an __________ reaction.
2. Iron and steel (an _________ of iron) are most easily protected by ___________ which provides a
barrier between the metal and air/water. Moving parts on machines can be protected by a water
repellent ___________ or grease layer.

3. This corrosion can be prevented by connecting iron to a more __________ metal (e.g. zinc or
magnesium). This is called sacrificial protection. By mixing iron with other metals such
as __________ you can make a non-rusting alloy called ___________ steel. Coating iron or steel with
a ________ layer is called 'galvanising'. The zinc preferentially corrodes first to form a zinc oxide layer
that doesn't _______ off. However if a ________ reactive metal is attached, the iron then
rusts _________ as it becomes the more _________ metal.