Preventing rust

A close-up photograph of a heap of long rusty nails

Source: © Shutterstock

Try this practical to test methods for preventing rust on iron nails, including painting, greasing and sacrificial protection. Includes kit list and safety instructions.

In this experiment, students protect iron nails using painting, greasing and sacrificial protection. The nails are placed in test tubes and covered with corrosion indicator solution, which changes colour from yellow to blue to show where rusting is taking place.

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