Question
When iron rusts and forms iron oxide the iron oxide has more mass than the iron,which statement correctly explains this diffrence in mass?
Answers
GPT-4o mini
When iron rusts and forms iron oxide (commonly represented as Fe₂O₃ or Fe₃O₄, depending on the type of rust), the increase in mass is primarily due to the chemical reaction with oxygen from the environment.
The relevant chemical reaction can be simplified as follows:
4 Fe + 3 O₂ → 2 Fe₂O₃
In this reaction, iron (Fe) combines with oxygen (O₂) from the air to form iron oxide. The key point is that the oxygen atoms, which are incorporated into the new compound (iron oxide), add to the total mass of the resulting substance.
Thus, the statement that correctly explains the difference in mass is that "the mass of the iron oxide is greater than the mass of the original iron because it includes the mass of the oxygen from the air that has reacted with the iron."
The relevant chemical reaction can be simplified as follows:
4 Fe + 3 O₂ → 2 Fe₂O₃
In this reaction, iron (Fe) combines with oxygen (O₂) from the air to form iron oxide. The key point is that the oxygen atoms, which are incorporated into the new compound (iron oxide), add to the total mass of the resulting substance.
Thus, the statement that correctly explains the difference in mass is that "the mass of the iron oxide is greater than the mass of the original iron because it includes the mass of the oxygen from the air that has reacted with the iron."