Question

a student records the mass of a piece of iron. the iron is then left outside until it rust. what type of reaction occurs. and how does the mass of the object after rusting compare with its original mass

Answer 1

It is a chemical reaction, and as for the mass im not 100% sure, but im pretty sure it gains mass.

Answer 2

This is a type of chemical reaction in which an iron nail react with water and oxygen to give iron oxide as a product. This process is known as rusting of iron.

Rusting of iron is an oxidation-reduction reaction in which iron losses electrons to oxygen atom.

The balanced chemical reaction for rusting of irons is,

`4Fe(s)+3O_2(g)\rightarrow 2Fe_2O_3(s)`

The mass of iron = 56 g

The mass iron oxide = 140 g

From this we conclude that, the mass of iron oxide has more mass than the original mass of iron. That means the mass of the object after rusting is increases when compared with its original mass.