Chemical Weathering Lab

Purpose/Problem Statement: To determine what conditions are necessary for rust to form on steel wool.

Hypothesis/Prediction Write a hypothesis using the IF, THEN, BECAUSE format.

Identification of Variables: Manipulated: The amount of water. Responding: The amount of rust. Controlled: The amount of steel wool The amount of time

Materials: steel wool 3 cups water scissors

Procedure: Gather your materials. Using the scissors, cut the steel wool into 3 equal size pieces. Place one piece of steel wool into a cup filled to the top with water. Place a second piece of steel wool in a cup with a small amount of water. * The water should touch but not cover the steel wool. *

Procedure: Place a third piece of steel wool in a cup with no water. Allow the 3 cups to sit for 72 hours. Observe the appearance of the steel wool in each container and record your results in table 1. Clean up.

Table 1: Got Rust? Cup Number Labeled drawing of steel wool before Labeled drawing of the steel wool after Rust Rank (amount of rust) 1 = least 3= most 1 Full of water 2 Small amount of water 3 No water

Graph & Conclusion Make a bar graph of the rust rank of the 3 cups. (remember to include a title and labels for each axis. Write your conclusion following the format on the “How to write an 8th grade lab write-up” handout.