Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I ran the iron in cereal experiment with success but when I tried to get the iron filings out of the plastic bottle, they were glued to the sides. What is a good way to remove the iron?

Hi minnie,

I love this project. I find it amazing that there is so much iron in our breakfast cereals. The best way to get your iron is to let the bottle dry out completely. This may take a few days depending on how humid it is. Then the iron should drop right out of the bottle and onto your plastic wrap. If it doesn't you can use a spoon or knife to scrape the iron off the sides of the bottle onto the plastic wrap.

Let me know if you have anymore questions.
Kierstyn

We did this experiment in my chemistry class, and my teacher used a magnet to get the iron shavings out. So, in addition to Kierstyn's advice, you could also use a magnet because iron is ultimately a metal, so magnets can attract iron.